 "Pakistan will not travel to India for Women's World Cup, confirms PCB chief Naqvi: 'When there is an agreement...'")
Pakistan will not be traveling to India for the ICC Women’s World Cup later this year, the country’s cricket board said in a statement on Saturday. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi added that the women’s team will play their matches at a neutral venue in a 'Hybrid Model' . The statement from the PCB chief comes a couple of months after the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team won the ICC Champions Trophy while playing all of their games in Dubai instead of Pakistan, where all the matches were originally supposed to be held.
This was after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the ninth edition of the 'Mini World Cup' due to security concerns in Pakistan, which hosted its first global event since the 1996 World Cup, as well as political tensions between the two nations.
The PCB, however, refused to accept the ‘Hybrid Model’ initially and only came to an agreement with the BCCI following ICC's intervention after they were assured that Pakistan would also play their matches at a neutral venue while participating in global events hosted by India in the near future.
PCB leaves it to India and ICC to choose neutral venue for World Cup
The Women’s World Cup, which will take place between 29 September and 26 October, the first event where India will have to return the favour to their neighbours under the ‘Hybrid Model’. Naqvi, however, added that it will be up to India and the ICC to decide where the Pakistan team plays its games.
“Just like India didn’t play in Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and were allowed to play at a neutral venue, whatever venue is decided, we will play. When there is an agreement it has to be adhered to,” he said.
Naqvi also praised the Fatima Sana-led side for their stellar qualifying campaign, winning all five matches in the World Cup Qualifiers that was hosted in Lahore this month.
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More Shorts“The team showed how to take home advantage and play like a collective unit. I am happy that women’s cricket is doing well now,” added Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister.
Australia are the defending champions in the tournament, having defeated hosts New Zealand in the final of the 2022 edition to be crowned world champions for a record-extending seventh time.
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