Canada asks ICC to help resolve visa problems
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The president of Cricket Canada, Ranjit Saini, has asked the ICC to step in and resolve the delay in granting India visas to three players of Pakistani origin in their World Cup squad. The team left for Dubai for a 10-day training camp ahead of the tournament, but vice-captain Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan and Hamza Tariq have still not received permission to travel to India.
"We seek your kind help and attention to this matter in assisting our players to obtain their visa in Dubai, Dhaka or Colombo," Saini wrote in a letter to ICC president Sharad Pawar. "We also do hope that the ICC has contingency plans to ensure that the matches are played elsewhere if the visa will not be processed on time or rejected all together."
Canada made a pre-World Cup preparatory visit to India in November and the visas were applied for before that. While the rest of the team had no trouble, the three Pakistan-born players were ruled out of the trip, forcing the team to go ahead without them. "We couldn't take these players to India and as a result our training plans have suffered," Saini told the Pakistan's Daily Mail earlier this month. "[It's] a source of distraction and is hurting team morale in general."
Canada will play practice matches against Ireland and Afghanistan in Dubai before heading to Bangladesh for their two official warm-up games against Bangladesh and England. They will face Sri Lanka in their opening game of the tournament on February 20 and their first game in India is scheduled for February 28 against Zimbabwe. While the ICC already assured Canada that the visa's will be granted, the association said in a statement on its website that the current situation left it in an awkward position.
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