Indian board says Pakistan’s match to be performed behind closed doorways in Hyderabad resulting from persisting safety considerations.
Pakistan’s warm-up match in opposition to New Zealand forward of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will likely be performed behind closed doorways, the Indian cricket board, hosts of the mega occasion, says as safety considerations and restrictions proceed to mar Pakistan’s participation within the match 9 days earlier than its launch.
Pakistan and New Zealand are scheduled to play their first pre-tournament match on Friday at Rajiv Gandhi Worldwide Stadium in Hyderabad, capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana.
Nonetheless, in a press release on Monday, the Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) mentioned that “the match will [now] happen behind closed doorways as per the recommendation of the native safety companies”.
It added that the match coincides with “festivals on the day and enormous gatherings are anticipated across the metropolis”.
Tickets for the match, together with 9 different warm-up fixtures, went on sale final month, and followers have now been instructed they’ll obtain a full refund for this match.
ICC CWC 2023 warm-up match replace.
The nice and cozy-up match between New Zealand and Pakistan scheduled to happen in Hyderabad on twenty ninth September will now happen behind closed doorways as per the recommendation of the native safety companies.
Extra particulars right here – https://t.co/eKoFEZ4u94… pic.twitter.com/24PwvIkg7m
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 25, 2023
Pakistan decries ‘unequitable therapy’
The BCCI’s announcement got here hours after the Pakistan contingent for the World Cup have been lastly issued visas lower than two days earlier than their departure for India.
The delay in receiving visas for the gamers and training workers put the group’s plans in disarray with decades-old thorny ties between the 2 international locations coming to the fore as soon as once more.
On Monday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had written to the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC), the game’s world governing physique, to lift considerations over the “unequitable therapy in the direction of Pakistan”, a PCB spokesperson instructed Al Jazeera.
“It’s a matter of disappointment that Pakistan group has to face uncertainty forward of the match,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Final month, the match’s marquee group stage match between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad was rescheduled to a day earlier, on October 14, after native police mentioned they might not be capable of present satisfactory safety.
The unique date for the match clashed with the primary day of the Hindu competition of Navaratri, native police mentioned after the match’s schedule was introduced.
The ICC has confirmed the Indian authorities has permitted the visas for the Pakistan squad travelling to the World Cup #CWC23 – Is there any likelihood that Pakistani followers will likely be issued visas of India for World Cup matches?
— Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) September 25, 2023
Cricket followers in Pakistan have mentioned they’re dealing with lengthy delays in buying visas for India and have been slammed with restrictions on their motion ought to they journey throughout the border to look at the matches.
“Our journey agent has instructed us we won’t be allowed to go wherever besides the stadium and our resort as soon as we attain Ahmedabad,” Khursheed Ali, a Pakistan supporter, instructed Al Jazeera.
“Who would need to journey below such restrictions? We need to go and discover our neighbouring nation however merely can’t.”
Pakistan and India have been bitter rivals since their independence from British rule in 1947. They’ve fought three wars since and have stern restrictions on cross-border actions of their residents.
Direct flights between India and Pakistan have been suspended for greater than 4 years after a souring of ties over New Delhi’s transfer to revoke the semiautonomous standing of Indian-administered Kashmir.
