PCB denies Pakistan over-50s team permission to play Masters World Cup in India

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday denied permission for Pakistan’s over-50s side to travel to India for the International Masters Cricket World Cup scheduled for January next year, the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association said.

Pakistan won the last edition of the tournament, which was held in Sri Lanka last year. The PVCA said organisers and the host had assured the association of visa clearance and high-level security before it sought formal permission to participate.

After receiving those assurances, the PVCA applied to the PCB and to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior for authorisation to travel. The board has informed the PVCA that the team is not permitted to travel to or play in India.

Fawad Ijaz, who heads the PVCA, said Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi — who also serves as head of the PCB — informed them they were not permitted to play in India. Ijaz reported the instruction to the veterans’ body following the ministries’ approach.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation had also recently refused to travel to India to play in the Asian Champions Trophy and was replaced by Bangladesh. Pakistan and India, the PVCA noted, play each other in cricket only in multi-nation events and at neutral venues due to strained relations.

"We have informed the organisers about our withdrawal from the World Cup so that they can arrange for an alternate team," Fawad Ijaz, who heads the PVCA, said on Wednesday.