The delegation will reportedly visit Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, the venue for the marque India-Pakistan match on October 15.
Pakistan is set to send a security delegation to India for inspecting the venues before giving clearance for the national team’s travel to the neighbouring country for this year’s ICC ODI World Cup. An official source in the Inter-Provincial Coordination (Sports) Ministry said that the government, including the foreign and interior ministry would decide when to send the security delegation to India once the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board was elected after the Eid holidays. “The security delegation will go with representation from the PCB to inspect the venues where Pakistan will play and also the security and other arrangements made for them in the World Cup,” he said.
He said the delegation would visit Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, the venue for the marque India-Pakistan match on October 15.
“It is standard procedure for the cricket board to request permission from the government, which typically sends a delegation to India, before any tour to India,” the official added.
“The delegation will interact with the officials there and discuss and inspect with them the security and other arrangements for our players, officials, fans, and media, who will go for the tournament,” the official stated.
He stated that the delegation will include that in its report if they decide it would be preferable for Pakistan to play at a different location rather than the one that has been selected.
If the delegation has any concerns, the PCB would discuss the findings with the ICC and BCCI, he continued.
A source in the PCB stated that the government dispatched a combined committee to assess the venues the previous time Pakistan travelled to India for the T20 World Cup.
The delegation’s advice led to the relocation of Pakistan’s game versus India from Dharamsala to Kolkata. The source insisted that the government’s approval of the PCB will precede Pakistan’s official announcement of their World Cup participation.
“All visits to India follow the same protocol, therefore this is not unique. Even in other sports, national federations must obtain government approval before sending teams to competitions in India. While the national football team recently competed in the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru only after receiving a last-minute NOC from the government organisations, the Pakistan Hockey Federation is still waiting for approval to send its side to the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai in August.
From October 5 through November 19, ten Indian cities will host the ODI World Cup.
