Pakistan Cricket Board has formally asked the government of Pakistan to provide permission for travelling to India to participate in this year’s ODI world cup.
According to a report by cricket website ESPNcricinfo, PCB wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on June 26, soon after the schedule of the tournament was officially revealed.
The PM is the patron-in-chief of the cricket board in Pakistan, but copies of the letter were also sent to the ministry of foreign affairs and ministry of interior. While touring for international sports tournaments ought to be a rountine matter, travel to India from Pakistan needs government clearance because of tensions between the two countries.
A source within the PCB told ESPNCricinfo that it had ‘trust’ in the government’s decision and said that the venues of the Pakistan’s matches would have to be approved by the government. It also said that a team could be sent in advance to check secuity arrangements.
Pakistan last toured India in in 2012-13 for a brief series, but India have not toured Pakistan for a bilateral series in over a decade.
Both teams have only faced off in ICC tournaments and Pakistan did visit India for world cups in 2011 and 2016. However, a recent conflict over scheduling has also affected this year’s Asia Cup.
Another clash will take place in this year’s world cup as both teams play in Ahmedabad on October 15.
For the world cup in 2016, Pakistan first sent a security team to review arrangements before allowing the team to travel at the last minute.
Pakistan will play a total of nine matches in the first stage of the tournament between October 6 and November 12.
