Pakistan's visa list for T20 World Cup in India resembles exodus; claims Imran has cleared

Pakistan has threatened to ask ICC to shift the T20 World cup outside India if the hosts do not give 'written assurance' regarding issuing visas for its players and their safety. PCB chairman Ehsan Mani claimed that the Pakistan government had never denied permission for its side to play in India and that their participation in the T20 World Cup was a must based on their agreement with ICC. However, PCB's Mani demanded a written assurance from India guaranteeing visas for not just its players but also for fans, journalists, and PCB officials, almost as if it is in India and not Pakistan where Cricket has come to be threatened by terrorism. 

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“Our government has never told us that we can’t play (in India),” the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani said. “We have agreed with the ICC that we are going to participate and we can’t contravene that.

"At the ICC level, I have clearly said we need a written assurance from the India government over not only our squad’s visas, but we also need visas for fans, journalists, and the board officials", he added. 

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Ehsan Mani revealed that the ICC had initially informed that the visa clearance from India would come by December 2020 and claimed that the world cricket body had been 'loose on it'. Mani demanded the tournament to be shifted out of India to UAE if Pakistan weren't allowed to participate and claimed that it was legally and constitutionally Pakistan's right to participate in the T20 World Cup. Talking about his relation with BCCI president  Sourav Ganguly, Mani said, “If he wants to organize the tournament in India, I have no problems with it too if he can convince every stakeholder. But ICC has backup plans and if they (India) can’t do it, it will be held at an alternative venue.”

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The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by India later this year after the Indian Premier League concludes. The marquee tournament was scheduled to be hosted by Australia in 2020 but was shelved after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, along with treasurer Jay Shah, unveiled the T20 World Cup trophy earlier in November 2020.

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