Pakistan Prime Minister Forms High Level Committee to Decide Team Participation in ODI World Cup

The committee examines and discusses all aspects of Pakistan-India relations, the government’s policy of keeping sports and politics separate, and the situation in India for the players.

Karachi: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has formed a high-level committee, headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, to decide on the participation of the national cricket team in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

The committee will examine and discuss all aspects of Pakistan-India relations, the government’s policy of separating sport from politics, and the situation in India for the players, officials, fans and media before presenting its recommendations to Sharif.

The Prime Minister is also the Patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Both the International Cricket Council and host BCCI have already announced the World Cup schedule and expect Pakistan to travel to India for the over-50s showpiece from October 5.

However, the PCB has informed them that the national team’s participation in the main event is subject to government approval due to the strained relations between the two countries.

Other committee members include Sports Minister Ahsan Mazari, Maryam Aurangzeb, Asad Mahmood, Amin ul Haq, Qamar Zaman Kaira and former diplomat Tariq Fatmi.

The ministers concerned have already informed the PCB that a high-level security delegation will be sent to India to inspect the venues where Pakistan’s matches are scheduled.

The acting chairman of the board, Zaka Ashraf, and chief operating officer, Salman Taseer will also leave for Durban on Saturday evening to attend the ICC meetings where Ashraf is expected to discuss India’s repeated refusal to send his team to Pakistan. citing security reasons.

The highly anticipated World Cup match between India and Pakistan will take place on October 15 at the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

Pakistan will play their two warm-up matches in Hyderabad before taking on the Netherlands and Sri Lanka in their first two World Cup matches at the same venue. The team also plays in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Both India and Pakistan only play against each other in Asia Cup or ICC events.