Pakistan blind team granted visa for World T20 Championship in India
The Pakistan blind cricket team's participation in the World T20 event received a huge boost after their visa request was accepted by the Indian High Commission today. However, the team still requires an NOC from the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior before they can participate in India.
"We plan to travel to India on January 28 as the championship begins from January 31 and we have already applied for clearance from the relevant government ministries to go to India," a PBCC spokesman told PTI.
Chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC), Syed Sultan Shah added that he too would travel with the team and hoped to hold talks with his Indian counterparts about a possible series in Pakistan at the end of the year.
"We are very happy that the visas have been issued as we were a bit anxious because of the refusal of visas to the Pakistan hockey teams and some other federations by the Indian High Commission in recent days," Shah said.
Earlier in November, when relations between India and Pakistan were tense, Shoaib Akhtar had said that he hoped that India would allow the Pakistan team to participate in the 2017 edition of the tournament. He tweeted, "Hope those who have eyes have heart too that beats for those who can't see."