T20 World Cup: Pakistan players will be granted entry to India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have received assurances from their national government that Pakistan players will be granted visas to enter the country for the T20 World Cup.

As things stand, the fractious relationship between the South Asian neighbours is tense, and it was not beyond the realm of possibility that political points scoring could trump the interests of cricket.

Pakistan players will be granted entry for T20 World Cup

Players from Pakistan have been denied visas when applying to enter India in the past but never for a ICC-organised international tournament.

While the players will be granted entry it seems unlikely that fans from Pakistan will be allowed into India to take in the tournament even if the tournament is played with crowds and foreign visitors are permitted.

The BCCI’s apex council have received assurances from government that an international incident will be avoided.

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

“It will be decided in due course of time. However, we had promised ICC that it will be sorted. The secretary announced during the meeting.”

The issue of Pakistan and India meeting in international competition is a prickly one covered in layers of cultural and political conflict.

India and Pakistan remain highly suspicious of one another and as a result of the tensions have not met in bilateral cricket since 2012.

Boycotts and threats of boycotts

The biggest sport in both countries, cricket has often been used to score political points and India have been particularly reluctant to take on Pakistan even in ICC events, often threatening boycotts over being drawn alongside their neighbours.

Politically both sides have been accused of attempting to destabilise the other, but the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai proved to be a tipping point and cricketing relations are yet to recover from the incident.

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