The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, seeking official clearance from the government to allow the team to travel to India to take part in the World Cup, which will take place between October and November this year.Ever since the schedule for the 2023 ODI World Cup was released by ICC, all cricket fans have been looking forward to the October 15 clash between India and Pakistan.The PCB has sent official written requests to the Prime Ministers office, the Interior Ministry, and the Foreign Ministry, asking for their guidance on how to proceed with the India travel plans. The letters were sent on June 26.“Soon after the World Cup schedule was announced last Tuesday, we wrote to our Patron, Honourable Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, through the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ministry, copying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior, requesting clearance to participate in the World Cup,” a PCB official told ESPNcricinfo.“The decision to visit India and approve venues at which we can play our matches is the prerogative of the Government of Pakistan. We have absolute trust in the judgment of our government and will follow whatever is advised.“It is entirely up to the Government of Pakistan the process it wants to formulate and follow before advising us on the next steps. If this requires sending an advance team to India to inspect the venues and hold meetings with the event organisers, then it will solely be the governments decision.”Uncertainty over Pak World Cup Participation after PCB Chairman CommentsThe latest appeal by the PCB for travel clearance follows the doubts regarding the Pakistan teams participation in the World Cup. The doubts were publicly expressed by PCB Chairman Najam Sethi in a press conference on June 16.Chairman PCB Management Committee Najam Sethi and Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseers press conference at Gaddafi Stadium.Watch live ➡️ https://t.co/XL2AnOjsBF pic.twitter.com/LoWC5eyihv— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) June 16, 2023In the press conference, Sethi said, “As far as India and Pakistan go, neither the PCB nor the BCCI can take decisions. The respective governments only can take decisions.“Its our government who has to decide, just like when it comes to India, its their government that decides when they go to play. There is no point asking us if we will play in Ahmedabad.“When the time comes, first it will be decided whether we are going or not, then the government decides where we will go. Our decision will rest on these two important conditions.”
