PCB chairman ensures fast track visa policy for Indian fans for ICC Champions Trophy

TBS report

November 2, 2024, 1:10 p.m

Last modified: 02 November 2024, 13:11

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the federal home minister, has promised a fast-track visa policy for Indian fans who want to attend the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan early next year.

His assurance came during a Nov. 1 meeting with a group of Sikh pilgrims from the United States.

Naqvi expressed optimism about a positive response from the Indian fans, underlining PCB’s enthusiasm to welcome them. “We will reserve a special quota of tickets for Indian fans and try to make the visa process quick,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by a national newspaper. He added that the PCB hopes that Indian fans will travel to Pakistan to witness the much-awaited India-Pakistan clash in Lahore.

Scheduled for February to March 2025, the ICC Champions Trophy will mark Pakistan’s hosting of a major ICC event, but the official schedule of the tournament remains on hold as the ICC awaits confirmation on whether the Indian government will allow the Indian team to participate in Pakistan. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said it must adhere to government policy when it comes to any potential tour of Pakistan.

An Indian team has not traveled to Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and there has been no Test series between the two countries since 2007, a long hiatus that has added tension to the rivalry.