MULTAN: World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) on Monday, revoked India’s hosting rights for the next year’s Blind Women’s T20 World Cup following their 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 here, which was attended by the representatives of Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan, while officials from India, England and New Zealand joined the meeting online.
In the meeting, India’s withdrawal from the ongoing Blind T20 World Cup also came under discussion and the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) officials blamed them for mixing politics with sports.
PBCC also cited the example of previous edition of the event, in which the Pakistan team could not participate due to non-issuance of India’s visas.
As a result, the WBCC chairman Syed Sultan Shah announced that both Pakistan and India will not host any future global tournament until the betterment of political ties between the two countries.
“Both Pakistan and India are leading teams in the world of blind cricket, but visa restrictions have hindered their ability to compete against each other. Hosting events at neutral venues is the most practical solution to this issue,” Shah stated.
During the high-profile meeting, PBCC chairman Shah was also re-elected as the WBCC chairman for a two-year tenure, while Cricket Association for Blind in India’s (CABI) Rajanish Henry was elected as Secretary-General.
Atique ur Rehman Atique ur Rehman is a senior reporter for Geo News.