PCB To Send Delegation To India For Security Check Ahead of World Cup 2023
India and Pakistan during T20 World Cup 2023 (Twitter)
The buzz around the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has already reached its prime after the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the upcoming tournament earlier in the week. With the ICC event to be hosted in India, an uncalled dilemma over Pakistan has been created; however, it has been understood that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will send a security delegation before its government gives them a green chit for the World Cup.
As per a report published in Times of India, the Pakistani board will send a team to all the venues where Men in Green's matches are to be hosted to assess the security state, not just for the team but for the officials, media and fans.
Due to security concerns, Pakistan's World Cup matches will be played in just five cities - Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. However, the PCB has shown concerns over playing India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The security delegation will access all the venues and interact with officials there before handing PCB the green chit.
"Before any tour to India it is standard practice for the cricket board to seek permission from the government which normally sends a delegation to India," a PCB official said as quoted by TOI.
"The PCB will share the report with the ICC and BCCI if the delegation has any concerns. "It was on the recommendation of the delegation that Pakistan's match at Dharamsala against India was moved to Kolkata."
Due to geopolitical differences between both countries, India and Pakistan have cut their bilateral ties as the two teams only meet during an ICC or Asian Cricket Council (ACC) event.
Nevertheless, after Pakistan's delegation submits the report, PCB will wait for clearance from the state government. Interestingly, the Hockey team - scheduled to play Asia Cup in Chennai in August - is still getting approval from the government.
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 "Arjun Bhalla")
