NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board wants the ICC to assure visas for its players and officials when India hosts the T20 World Cup in October next year, by January 2021, PCB chief executive Wasim Khan has said.
The PCB CEO also confirmed that there is “no chance” of an Indo-Pak bilateral series in “foreseeable future” and neither will it be a part of the Futures Tours Programme (FTP) that starts in 2023, PTI reports.
India would be hosting the global T20 event in October and given the tense diplomatic ties between the two neighbours, the PCB has sought assurances that the visa process of their players and support staff would be dealt with by the ICC.
“This is an ICC matter. We have discussed our concerns. There is a ‘Host Agreement’ that states very clearly that host nation (India in this case) will have to provide visas and accommodation for teams that are due to participate in T20 World Cup and Pakistan is one of them,” Khan told PTI in an exclusive interaction.
“We have asked for a deadline till December-January, which we believe is the right thing. We expect a response from the ICC on whether our players and officials will receive visas to participate in the tournament,” Khan said.
The PCB CEO also confirmed to the newswire that they have sent a formal invitation to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for a short Pakistan tour in January but are yet to hear from them.
