India will not travel to Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. Now the Indian blind cricket team will also not travel to Pakistan for the Blind T20 World Cup.
The tournament will start from 23rd November 2024 to 3rd December 2024 in Pakistan. Earlier the Sports Ministry issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the national blind team to participate in the tournament. They were awaiting confirmation from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to participate in the event.
However, the MEA has withheld permission for the Indian blind cricket team to travel to Pakistan for the Blind T20 World Cup. This decision has been taken mainly considering the security reasons.
Tense situation between India and Pakistan on cricketing front
India and Pakistan have had serious political tensions between them. The effect of that is now visible on the cricketing front as well. Firstly, India said that they won’t travel to Pakistan for the upcoming Champions Trophy. This caused a lot of buzz in Pakistan and their former players.
Pakistan Cricket Board stated that they won’t accept a hybrid model for the tournament. And, they will withdraw from the event if the tournament moves out of Pakistan.
Now India’s blind team will not travel to Pakistan as well. This will further fuel the ongoing issue. India is the defending champion in the blind T20 WC. They’ve won all three editions of the tournament so far in 2012, 2017 and 2022. The blind team last travelled to Pakistan back in 2014 for a bilateral series.
Regarding the Champions Trophy, ICC has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to accept a hybrid model for the tournament. ICC believes this is the best possible solution for this issue. They made clear that the marquee event would not go ahead without India’s participation. ICC also advised Pakistan to refrain from making any comments against India.
