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Pakistan cricket team’s preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India have been disrupted due to a visa delay that has delayed the side’s departure for the event that gets under way in 10 days, reports Al Jazeera.
Team Pakistan and officials were scheduled to leave for the United Arab Emirates last week for a two-day team bonding session in Dubai before proceeding to India where they take on the Netherlands in their first match on October 6.
However, a delay in receiving visas for the contingent has left the team’s plans in disarray, with decades-old thorny ties between the two countries coming to the fore once again.
“We had planned to spend two days in Dubai [September 25 and 26] before flying to Hyderabad [India] ahead of the team’s pre-tournament warm-up matches,” a spokesperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told the Middle East based news outlet.
“However, we had to cancel the team bonding session due to a delay in receiving our visas from India,” he added.
Pakistan team is now scheduled to leave for the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on September 27 provided the visas are received in time.
“We will fly to Hyderabad via Dubai in the early hours of Wednesday, but this is again subject to the arrival of visas.”
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
