India’s unnecessary delay in issuing visas for the Pakistan cricket team reeks of politicisation of sports. Not only was our team reportedly the last to be issued visas, but it appears the Indian High Commission only informed the Pakistan Cricket Board of the approval after a formal complaint was lodged with the ICC about the “extraordinary delays” and “inequitable treatment”. India had previously confirmed to the ICC that Pakistani players would receive their visas “in time”. The Pakistanis will now fly to India via Dubai on September 27, barely two days after getting their visas, and just two days before their first warm-up match. Team Pakistan was originally scheduled to fly out on September 25 and spend two days in Dubai as part of a team-building exercise, but that was scrapped because of the Indian government’s gamesmanship.
Pakistan had actually tried to apply for passport-free pre-approval in August because players could not submit their passports until they were done shuttling to and from Sri Lanka — solely because of the Indian government’s refusal to let the Asia Cup be played in Pakistan. After the Indian High Commission refused, applications with passports were submitted on September 19, alongside letters from the ICC. The Indian government has also been mistreating players of Pakistani-origin in other national teams, including Australian star Usman Khawaja, who arrived in India after his teammates during their tour earlier this year due to visa issues. Dutch players of Pakistani-origin also missed a training camp in India in August due to visa delays, leading the country’s board to apply for visas over two months in advance to ensure there were no hiccups.
New Delhi may be trying to assert its newfound geopolitical importance, but such actions are not winning it any friends. Rather, they only underscore the Indian government’s petty politicisation of every subject under the sun.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2023.
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