Cricket World Cup: No Pak scribes, fans; govt asked to get involved to expedite visas

This meeting comes three days after the PCB first wrote to the International Cricket Council (ICC) flagging concerns about the delay faced by journalists and fans from Pakistan. “The chairman also requested the Foreign Secretary to take up the issue with India’s Home Ministry through the Pakistan High Commission Office in New Delhi. PCB is extremely disappointed to see that journalists from Pakistan and fans are still facing uncertainty about obtaining an Indian visa to cover Pakistan games in ICC World Cup 2023,” Farooq said in a statement to The Indian Express.

Pakistan are playing their first tournament in India since the 2016 T20 World Cup. Back then, The Indian Express had reported, quoting Home Ministry officials, that they would be issuing 250 visas for each match for Pakistani fans. Since Pakistan played their matches only in Kolkata and Mohali, a multi-city visa was issued for their fans who could provide match ticket and accommodation details.

Last week as it became evident that no Pakistani journalist would be able to travel to Hyderabad for their opening fixture against the Netherlands, the PCB had written to the ICC about the delay in visas being issued and cited the Members Playing Agreement (MPA) signed by the cricket boards for the World Cup, which mandates issuing visas for travelling journalists and fans.

“We have reminded the ICC about their obligations and members’ agreement on issuing visas for fans and journalists and continue to raise concerns with all relevant authorities,” a PCB spokesperson told The Indian Express.

This paper reported that Mohammad Bashir, better known as Chicago Chacha in cricket circles, was the only Pakistan fan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad for the team’s warm-up game against Australia. Bashir holds a US passport.

Official response

When asked about the delay in visas being issued to journalists from Pakistan and the MPA, an ICC spokesperson said, “This is an obligation of our host (India) and they are working hard on it with our full support. Every effort is being made to get this sorted.”

The Indian Express reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs, but hasn’t received a response yet.

A top BCCI official told this paper that a communication channel was open with the government on the ‘visa issue’ for Pakistan journalists and fans.

“The BCCI is following up on visas to fans and journalists with the Indian government. We are hopeful a solution will be found soon,” the BCCI official said.

It is learnt that around 60 journalists from Pakistan have been granted accreditation by the ICC. “Since e-visas are not given to Pakistan journalists, most of us applied for the visa (after submitting the passport) in the first week of September,” a senior journalist from Pakistan told The Indian Express. “But so far, we have not received any confirmation from the Indian High Commission here. Hopefully, we will receive it next week.”

As Pakistani journalists could not travel, they had to cancel hotel bookings in Hyderabad and air tickets.

Even before the World Cup began, the Pakistan team faced visa issues which led to them cancelling their two-day boot camp in Dubai. They received their Indian visas 48 hours before they were to travel for the tournament.

Journalists from Bangladesh also initially faced delays in procuring visas. “This sort of delay has never happened,” a senior journalist from Bangladesh, who has travelled to India multiple times in the past, said. “We had to write to the Indian High Commission 6-7 times, which has never happened in the past. Eventually, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, with the help of our foreign ministry, put in a request on October 1 and on October 3 evening, few of us got the visas,” the journalist said.