 "Indian and Pakistani players compete in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Reuters")
It’s not just the Indian cricket team that will not be travelling to Pakistan for a tournament in the near future. Days after denying the BCCI permission to send the Rohit Sharma-led men’s cricket team to their neighbouring country for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, the Government of India has decided against approving the Kabaddi federation’s request to participate in a series of friendly matches in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Kabaddi Federation confirmed the development on Thursday while expressing disappointment over the Narendra Modi-led government’s decision to deny the Indian team permission for the tour.
“Our counterparts in India have conveyed inability to send their team to Pakistan. We regret this decision, as we had eagerly anticipated hosting them here,” PKF secretary Mohammad Sarwar Rana told the Associated Press of Pakistan, a government-operated news agency.
The Indian team was scheduled to play the first of three matches in Kartarpur on 19 November. The second and third matches would then have taken place in Lahore and Bahawalpur on 21 and 23 November respectively.
The PKF, however, is currently looking at other options and following India’s withdrawal, according to Rana.
The move emphasises New Delhi’s stance of not engaging in bilateral sporting relations with a nation that they’ve fought multiple wars against and remain embroiled in political disputes with and is also accused of supporting cross-border terrorism against India.
Impact Shorts
View AllThe BCCI had recently informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) via the International Cricket Council (ICC) that the Indian team intended to play its matches at a neutral venue rather than Pakistan, in a ‘Hybrid Model’ like the one that had been implemented in last year’s Asia Cup 50-over tournament.
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The PCB, however, has not budged from its original stance of the entire tournament taking place in Pakistan and has refused to entertain talks of some of the matches taking place at a neutral venue .
Meanwhile, the Indian blind cricket team is awaiting the government’s permission to participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup that will be taking place in Lahore and Multan from 23 November to 3 December. With the senior men’s cricket team and the kabaddi team denied permission, the blind team’s chances of travelling to their neighbouring country appear slim at the moment.