On Sunday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that their national men’s cricket team is all set to journey to India to participate in the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup. The foreign ministry conveyed that Pakistan’s cricket responsibilities on the global stage will not be affected by the ongoing diplomatic connections with India.
“Pakistan firmly believes that sports and politics should remain separate. As a result, the country has made the choice to dispatch its Cricket Team to India for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. This decision was conveyed through an official statement from the foreign ministry.”
“Pakistan thinks that its relationship with India shouldn’t stop it from meeting its international sports duties.
A noteworthy point is that the ODI World Cup comes after the Asia Cup. Initially, Pakistan was set to host the Asia Cup. However, because the BCCI declined to send the Indian team there, Sri Lanka was chosen to co-host the tournament. All of India’s matches were planned to be held in Sri Lanka”. The foreign ministry, in its statement, made sure to remind India about this action.
“Pakistan has made a positive and responsible decision compared to India’s stubborn stance. India had refused to send its Cricket Team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup,” stated the announcement.
In recent weeks, Pakistani officials visited various locations where the team is set to play World Cup matches to review security plans. This marks the first instance of Pakistan’s men’s team traveling to India since the 2016 T20 World Cup. The most recent time Pakistan competed in a series on Indian soil was in December 2012 to January 2013, which was also the last series between the two nations. Since then, their encounters have been limited to continental events (like the Asia Cup) and global tournaments (such as the World Cup and Champions Trophy).
This year, fans can look forward to some exciting India-Pakistan matches. They might play against each other three times in the Asia Cup, and they are also placed in the same ‘Group A’ for the tournament. In the World Cup, they are set to face off on October 15 in Ahmedabad. But there’s a chance the date could change because of security concerns.