The ICC has been drawn into a fresh controversy ahead of the T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin on 7 February, with visa complications threatening the participation of several teams in the India and Sri Lanka-hosted tournament.
While security arrangements were already under discussion for the 20-team event, attention has now shifted to visa issues involving players of Pakistani origin, leaving a number of associate nations in limbo.
According to Pakistani outlet Geo Super, five countries — the United States, Canada, Italy, Oman and the United Arab Emirates — have encountered difficulties in securing Indian visas for members of their squads. The respective cricket boards have written to the ICC, seeking urgent intervention.
Long-standing political tensions between India and Pakistan have repeatedly complicated the organisation of global tournaments, often forcing the ICC to resort to hybrid hosting models. Until now, such problems were largely Pakistan-centric, but the issue has now widened to include other participating nations.
Italy, preparing to make their World Cup debut, appear to be the worst affected. The Italian cricket structure relies heavily on immigrant players, several of whom are of Pakistani descent. India’s reluctance to issue visas has raised serious doubts over Italy’s ability to finalise a competitive squad.
The same uncertainty surrounds the USA, Canada, Oman and the UAE. With less than a month remaining before the tournament begins, there has been no positive response from India regarding visa clearance for the affected players. Letters sent to both the ICC and the BCCI have so far gone unanswered.
Geo Super reports that, with time running out, the impacted nations are now preparing to jointly approach the ICC and the BCCI once again. The situation has also reignited debate within cricketing circles, particularly as the BCCI is reportedly dealing with parallel disputes involving Bangladesh and other countries, prompting questions over the ICC’s continued silence despite being fully aware of the growing uncertainty.
