The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has declined to give permission for the country's over-50s cricket team to participate in the International Masters Cricket World Cup, which is set to take place in India in January next year. Consequently, Pakistan will not defend their title at the tournament, which they won in Sri Lanka last year.
Fawad Ijaz, president of the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), announced the withdrawal of the team on Wednesday. He said the association had informed the tournament organizers of their decision so that they could field a replacement team. The move comes after tensions flared up again between India and Pakistan, which have long been rival countries with a fraught history.
Mohsin Naqvi informs veterans team of Pakistan Cricket Board's decision
According to Ijaz, the tournament organizers and Indian hosts had assured the PVCA that the Pakistani team would get visas and adequate security during their stay in India. The association approached the PCB and Pakistan's Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior to seek the required permissions to participate after being assured.
However, Ijaz said that Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, also PCB chairman, told the association that the team would not be allowed to go to India to participate in the competition.
The PVCA informed the organizers of their decision, allowing them to make other arrangements for the tournament. Pakistan's absence will be a blow to the defending champions, who were expected to return to contest for another title.
The decision comes after a similar decision involving hockey, as the Pakistan Hockey Federation recently decided not to send its team to India for the Asian Champions Trophy. Bangladesh was the replacement for Pakistan.
India and Pakistan have had limited bilateral sports ties, despite their strained political relations. Their cricket teams usually play each other in multi-nation tournaments as they do not have bilateral series.
However, the latest decision about Pakistan's veteran cricketers will add another chapter to the complicated sporting relationship between the two countries.
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