Pakistan pre-World Cup team-bonding vacation to Dubai has been derailed by a visa processing delay, in a narrative twist that may even top the most entertaining cricket matches. Initial plans called for the Pakistan cricket team to fly to the UAE early the following week, where they would stop for a short time before continuing on to Hyderabad, India. All of this is being done in order to be ready for their opening exhibition game against New Zealand on September 29. The visa issue has, however, forced a revision in the plan, giving the cricketing story an unanticipated turn.
As this scenario plays out, the narrative develops as Pakistan gets ready to leave Lahore with the intention of flying to Dubai on a Wednesday morning.
From there, they will set out on their trek to Hyderabad, crossing their fingers that the elusive visas will show up on time. Even if one cricket official may have called the situation “alarming,” there seems to be a general feeling of hope that the visas will eventually be issued, enabling Pakistan to take part in the World Cup’s cricketing extravaganza. The fact that the visa applications started the process more than a week ago highlights how urgent the situation is.
According to a report by ESPN cricinfo, Pakistan is the only cricket-playing nation among the teams traveling to India for the World Cup that is still awaiting a visa. The complex and tense political landscape against which the team is entering Indian territory is harshly highlighted by this delay.
Due to intense political tensions between the Nations, the cricket suffered
Border crossings between these neighbors now draw large crowds of people. The previous bilateral series between the two took place during Pakistan’s trip to India for a white-ball matchup back in 2012–2013. Even the interaction was an anomaly because it took place amid tense ties as a result of the horrific Mumbai attacks in November 2008. Since then, Pakistan has only made a few trips to India, with their most recent trip occurring in March 2016 for the T20 World Cup.
The recent Asia Cup provided evidence of how politics’ intricate workings have even impacted cricket’s playing ground. Despite being the designated hosts, Pakistan was only able to host four games since the Indian team was not given permission to cross the border. The majority of the tournament was played in Sri Lanka thanks to an inventive solution thought up by former PCB president Najam Sethi.
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