The Pakistan cricket team’s plans for a pre-ODI World Cup trip to Dubai before heading to Hyderabad, India, have been scrapped due to visa issues. Reportedly, the team, led by Babar Azam, had intended to go to Dubai for team bonding, but this had to be canceled as they are still awaiting Indian visas. Among the nine teams participating in the tournament, Pakistan is the only one yet to receive their visas.
Originally, Pakistan was scheduled to travel to the UAE next week for a brief stay before proceeding to Hyderabad for their first warm-up match against New Zealand on September 29. However, these plans have been abandoned. Instead, the team will head to Karachi and then fly to Hyderabad next week. This marks Pakistan’s first visit to India since 2012-13.
It’s worth noting that neither Pakistan nor India has played a bilateral series in each other’s country since 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India for a white-ball series. Additionally, only two players in the current Pakistan squad have previous experience playing cricket in India.
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Pakistan will commence their World Cup campaign on October 6 against The Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Recently, Pakistan announced their 15-player squad for the World Cup, with Babar Azam as the captain. However, they will miss the services of star pacer Naseem Shah, who sustained an injury during a Super Four match against India at the Asia Cup. Naseem has been replaced by Hasan Ali, and Pakistan’s formidable pace attack will be spearheaded by Shaheen Shah Afridi, supported by Haris Rauf, Mohammed Waseem, and Hasan Ali.