Watch: Pakan players arrive in India after 7 year to play ODI World Cup | Cricket-world-cup News
Babar Azam-led Pakan arrived finally at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday amidst visa delays. It is the first time in seven years The Men in Green have made their appearance in the country to play competitive cricket since the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Pakan will spend a lot of time in the capital of Telangana, having arrived here in Dubai where it had a long nine-hour layover. The squad had left Lahore in the wee hours of Wednesday and reached Hyderabad in the night.
Pakan played their opening warm-up game against New Zealand on September 29 before taking on Australia on October 3. They open their tournament campaign against the Netherlands here before battling with Sri Lanka on October 10.
#WATCH | Telangana: Pakan Cricket team arrives at Hyderabad airport, ahead of the World Cup scheduled to be held between October 5 to November 19, in India. pic.twitter.com/j1kFvqGJM2
— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2023
The Pakan players had got their Indian visas less than 48 hours before their scheduled travel. Both India and Pakan only face each other in Asia Cup and ICC events due to the tense relations between the two countries.
Only Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Ali Agha have visited India for cricket. Babar could not play in the T20 World Cup in India in 2016 due to an injury.Most Read
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“The BCCI has assured the ICC that all teams will be provided the best security and will be well looked after so I don’t expect anything different for our team. I don’t think our team will face any issues in India,” the head of the PCB management committee Zaka Ashraf told reporters before the team’s departure.
Pakan cricket Team has landed in Hyderabad…. #missionworkdcup pic.twitter.com/LxlQKlFf37
— Mariya Rajput (@mariya_raj10) September 27, 2023
Ahead of the team’s departure, Babar had spoken about his excitement over playing in India, especially Ahmedabad where the arch-rivals lock horns in front of a one lakh-plus crowd.
“Although we have not played in India before, we are not taking too much pressure. We have done our research and we have heard the conditions are similar to how they play out in other Asian countries,” said Babar in the pre-departure media conference.
“I am excited to play in Ahmedabad as it will be jam-packed. I will try my best to perform up to my potential. I am not worried about my individual accolades, I want to make sure whatever I do helps the result for the team,” he said.
(With Agency inputs)
