LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani said he willdemand the International Cricket Council (ICC) shift the T20 World Cup outof India unless the host gives assurances regarding visa and safetyarrangements for players by March.
“Our government has never told us that we can’t play [in India],” Manisaid. “We have agreed with the ICC that we are going to participate and wecan’t contravene that.”
“At the ICC level, I have clearly said we need a written assurance from theIndia government over not only our squad’s visas, but we also need visasfor fans, journalists, and the board officials.”
Australia was due to host the T20 World Cup but had to postpone it becauseof the Covid-19 pandemic. The schedule now has India hosting the 2021edition and Australia staging the tournament next year.
Mani said the ICC had initially told the PCB that it would get the visaclearance from India by December.
“ICC has also been a bit loose on it as they told us that it will be doneby Dec 31, 2020, but it didn’t happen,” Mani said.
Since then, Mani has twice raised the issue with the ICC and told them thathe needed a clear decision by end of March, otherwise, he will demand theevent be shifted to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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“It’s already been decided that if India can’t hold the event it will beshifted to UAE,” Mani said. “Legally and constitutionally it’s our right toparticipate in the tournament and nobody can remove us from the tournament.”
Mani said on a personal level he has no problems with Sourav Ganguly, whois the president of the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India.
“If he wants to organise the tournament in India, I have no problems withit too if he can convince every stakeholder. But ICC has backup plans andif they [India] can’t do it, it will be held at an alternative venue.”
The strained political relations between the two nuclear-armed neighborshave prevented the countries from playing in any full bilateral cricketingseries since 2007 when Pakistan last toured India.
However, both countries have regularly faced each other in the ICCtournaments.
