Central Govt To Grant Visas To Pakistan National Cricket Team For World T20 2021: Report

The central government will provide visas to cricketers from the Pakistani national team for the ICC World T20 that is scheduled to be held in India in October later this year.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has apprised the apex council about the government’s decision on this front though it is still unclear whether supporters from the neighbouring country will be permitted to cross the border to watch the matches.

“The visa issue of the Pakistan cricket team has been sorted. However, whether the fans can travel across the border to watch matches is still not clear,” a member of the apex council was quoted as saying in a PTI report.

The BCCI had apparently promised the ICC to sort out this issue and the secretary apparently confirmed the same during a recent meeting.

India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series when the latter visited the former for a short limited-overs contest in late 2012. However, political tensions between the two nations have prevented them from contesting against each other outside of multi-nation tournaments.

The World T20 will take place in venues across Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Dharamshala, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. However, it seems as if the matches will be held behind closed doors considering the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.