The back-and-forth news about the participation of the Pakistan team in the World Cup 2023 continues on its see-saw ride.
Just a couple of days after the tentative schedule of the World Cup was prepared, and it was reported that Pakistan will travel to India, now Sports Tak has reported that the Pakistan government has strictly told that the Men In Green will not travel to their neighboring country, and suggested that they their World Cup matches outside India. This has been, according to journalist Vikrant Gupta, backed by Najam Sethi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief.
The Pakistan government says it will not give permission to fly to India for World Cup 2023
“Pakistan Govt won’t allow Pak team to travel to India for the World Cup, @TheRealPCB Chief @najamsethi tells @rawatrahul9 LIVE on @sports_tak. Says the only way Pak will participate in World Cup is if Pak games are held in a neutral country,” Vikrant Gupta tweeted.
Pakistan Govt won’t allow Pak team to travel to India for the World Cup, @TheRealPCB Chief @najamsethi tells @rawatrahul9 LIVE on @sports_tak .
Says the only way Pak will participate in World Cup is if Pak games are held in a neutral country.— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) May 11, 2023
This is a spanner in the works of the ICC and the BCCI who had been planning to officially reveal the schedule for the World Cup 2023 in the coming weeks.
A tentative schedule for the tournament was out earlier this week in which India and Pakistan are scheduled to clash to resume their rivalry on October 15, Sunday, most likely in the largest seating capacity cricket stadium in the world – the iconic Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, although the PCB had expressed reservations about traveling to Gujarat, a BJP governed state.
“Majorly, the Pakistan Cricket Board is understood to be having reservations over playing the big game against India in Ahmedabad and that could be one of the reasons, it is being assumed, why Najam Sethi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, visited the ICC office in Dubai over the last couple of days,” Cricbuzz said.
Now, according to Sports Tak, that meeting perhaps was about Sethi informing ICC and the BCCI about the government’s order of not allowing the Pakistan team to travel to India for the World Cup.
The World Cup 2023 is set to start on October 5 with defending champions England taking on runner-ups of 2019 WC, New Zealand.
Over the past year, there had been big talks and threats from the PCB officials about the PCB threatening to boycott the World Cup 2023 in India if the BCCI do not send Team India to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023 in September.
Now, regardless of that, it is the orders from the Pakistan government, reportedly, that the 1992 World champs will not be coming to India, the country with whom they have strained political and border relations for many years now.
Both the teams haven’t competed in a bilateral series for over a decade and only meet in ICC and Asia Cup events.
The World Cup 2023 is a 10-team tournament, as it was in 2019, with 48 games to be played.
