ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said on Friday the Pakistan cricket team, set to participate in the ICC World Cup 2023 hosted by India in October, will receive “necessary security” during the tournament and will be treated on par with teams from other countries.
The announcement follows Pakistan’s recent clearance for its national men’s cricket team to travel to India for the 50-over World Cup, with its foreign office expressing “deep concerns” for the security of their team in the neighboring state.
Political tensions between the two South Asian nuclear rivals have also cast a shadow over their sports relations. Over the past decade, their cricket teams have exclusively faced each other in multi-team events at neutral venues, reflecting the impact of these geopolitical strains.
“Pakistan’s cricket team will be treated just like the cricket team of any other country participating in the ICC World Cup,” the official spokesperson for India’s external affairs ministry, Arindam Bagchi, said during a weekly media briefing.
“As regards security issues, I think the question should be better directed toward our security agencies or the organizers, and, of course, we would hope that all necessary security will be provided not just to them [the Pakistani team] but all other participating teams.”
According to the revised World Cup schedule released by the International Cricket Council this week, India and Pakistan will face off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14.
Indian media reports said Ahmedabad officials had raised concerns about their ability to provide adequate security because the match was originally scheduled at the start of a nine-day Hindu religious festival.
Pakistan had decided to visit India after the Indian cricket board agreed to jointly host September’s Asia Cup, allowing India to play its matches in Sri Lanka.
Cricket matches between the two South Asian countries are always a spectacle, drawing thousands of people to the stadium while millions of sports fans witness the action on their TV screens around the world.
