MULTAN: The World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) on Monday revoked India’s hosting rights for next year’s Women’s T20 World Cup for the Blind following its refusal to visit Pakistan for the ongoing men’s mega event.
The decision was taken during the 26th WBCC General Council meeting at a local hotel, which was attended by representatives from Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan, while officials from India, England and New Zealand joined the online meeting.
In the meeting, India’s withdrawal from the ongoing Blind T20 World Cup was also discussed and Pakistan Blind Cricket Board (PBCC) officials blamed them for mixing politics with sports.
The PBCC also cited the example of the previous edition of the event, in which the Pakistani team was unable to participate due to non-issuance of visas to India.
As a result, WBCC President Syed Sultan Shah announced that both Pakistan and India will not host any future global tournaments until political ties between the two countries improve.
“Both Pakistan and India are leading teams in the world of blind cricket, but visa restrictions have impeded their ability to compete against each other. Holding events in neutral locations is the most practical solution to this problem,” said Shah.
During the high-level meeting, PBCC President Shah was also re-elected WBCC President for a two-year term while Rajanish Henry of the Cricket Association for the Blind of India (CABI) was elected General Secretary.
Atique ur Rehman is a senior reporter at Geo News.
