"Pakistan cricket team will be treated just like the cricket team of any other country" - MEA spokesperson on ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi recently spoke about Pakistan's participation in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which is slated to be played in India later this year.
There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Pakistan's participation in the showpiece event. However, after a brief delay, it was confirmed that the Men in Green will travel to India for the ICC event.
On Friday, August 11, Bagchi clarified that adequate security arrangements will be made for Pakistan and all the other participating teams. Speaking to reporters, he said:
"We have seen these reports regarding the Pakistan cricket team's participation in the upcoming ICC World Cup to be hosted by India. Pakistan cricket team will be treated just like the cricket team of any other country participating in the ICC World Cup."
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan are keen to send a team to India later this month to assess the security arrangements.
India-Pakistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 clash shifted to October 14
The much-awaited India-Pakistan game of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 was originally scheduled to be played on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
However, the tie has now been shifted to October 14, as it was clashing with the first day of the Navratri festival. However, the venue for the fixture has not been changed.
The date was shifted as the local police requested the change, considering that Navratri is one of the most popular festivals of Gujarat and crowds turn up in large numbers for the celebrations.
Apart from the aforementioned contest, the match between Pakistan and England also got a new date due to Kali Puja. It will now be played on November 11 instead of November 12 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Pakistan's match against Sri Lanka, which was earlier scheduled to be played at the Ravij Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 12, has now been moved to October 10.