The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that it will seek clearance from the government before finalizing its participation in the upcoming World Cup. This decision comes after the official schedule for the tournament was unveiled in Mumbai. It appears that the concerns and requests raised by the PCB were not taken into consideration during the planning of the World Cup.
According to a spokesperson for the PCB, “The PCB requires clearance from the Government of Pakistan for any tour to India, including the match venues.” The statement was released shortly after the full schedule of the World Cup was made public. The PCB is currently in communication with the government to seek guidance, and they plan to update the International Cricket Council (ICC) once a response is received. This aligns with their previous communication to the ICC regarding the draft schedule.
While the PCB has not expressed its views on the final schedule, insiders at the ICC and BCCI remain confident that the Pakistan team will ultimately travel to India for the tournament.
One of the objections raised by the PCB pertains to the India-Pakistan match being scheduled in Ahmedabad. The PCB had expressed a preference for Chennai or Bengaluru as the venue. Additionally, they had requested the BCCI and ICC to swap the match locations for their games against Afghanistan and Australia, which are currently planned for Chennai and Bengaluru, respectively.
The BCCI and PCB have been involved in a dispute over the scheduling of multi-national events, including the Asia Cup. Eventually, the PCB had to acquiesce to the pressure from the Asian boards, led by the BCCI, and agree to a hybrid model for the continental championship, with matches unevenly split between Pakistan (four) and Sri Lanka (nine).
Pakistan’s World Cup campaign is scheduled to begin on October 6 with a match against Qualifier 1 in Hyderabad. This will be followed by a game against Qualifier 2 on October 12. The highly anticipated clash against India is slated for October 15 in Ahmedabad. Pakistan will also play matches against Australia in Bengaluru on October 20, Afghanistan in Chennai on October 23, South Africa in Chennai on October 27, Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 31, New Zealand in Bengaluru on November 4, and England in Kolkata on November 12.
The BCCI and ICC have clarified that if Pakistan qualifies for the semifinals, their match will be held in Kolkata, even if their opponents happen to be India, who are designated to play their semifinal in Mumbai if they reach that stage.
