With the start of the mega event in India just around the corner, sources have indicated that the Pakistani cricket squad is expected to receive visas for their journey to the neighboring country for the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had previously informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) about the delay in visa issuance, prompting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to expedite the process.
Reports suggest that the Indian embassy in Pakistan is anticipated to receive a non-objection certificate from its home ministry today, enabling the immediate issuance of visas.
Notably, Pakistan is the only team out of nine yet to receive their visas, according to ESPNcricinfo. The national squad is set to travel to Hyderabad, India, from Dubai and will engage in a warm-up match against New Zealand on September 29.
Travel between the two countries has historically been challenging due to diplomatic tensions, with Pakistan and India not having played bilateral series in any format since 2012-13. Pakistan’s last tour of India was for ODI and T20I series, with their most recent Test match taking place in 2007.
Also read: Full Schedule of ICC ODI World Cup 2023
Here is Pakistan’s schedule for the World Cup:
- October 6 – vs Netherlands in Hyderabad
- October 10 – vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad
- October 14 – vs India in Ahmedabad
- October 20 – vs Australia in Bengaluru
- October 23 – vs Afghanistan in Chennai
- October 27 – vs South Africa in Chennai
- October 31 – vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
- November 4 – vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
- November 11 – vs England in Kolkata
Day matches will commence at 10 am Pakistan Standard Time (PST), while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 1:30 pm (PST).
In the event of Pakistan qualifying for the semi-finals, those matches will be held in Kolkata. If India reaches the semi-finals and faces Pakistan, the match location will also be Kolkata.
The squad for Pakistan includes:
- Babar Azam (c)
- Shadab Khan
- Abdullah Shafiq
- Fakhar Zaman
- Haris Rauf
- Hasan Ali
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Imam-ul-Haq
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
- M Wasim Jnr
- Saud Shakeel
- Salman Ali Agha
- Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Usama Mir
Reserves:
- Mohammad Haris
- Zaman Khan
- Abrar Ahmed.