Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq said he hoped Misbah will lead Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 champions Faisalabad in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League starting in the Indian town of Mohali on Tuesday (tomorrow) after New Delhi cleared the tour.
India had stalled all bilateral cricket with Pakistan in the wake of 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and — with the exception of a short tour by Pakistan late last year — there have been no signs of full series revival amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
But Misbah said matches between the two cricket-obsessed nations should not be halted by politics.
“I feel cricket must go on.” Pakistan humiliatingly lost the second Test in Harare on Saturday to level the two-match series at 1-1. Misbah joined the rest of the Faisalabad squad in India later on Sunday.
Despite the tensions between India and Pakistan, Misbah said people on both sides of the border enjoy cricket.
“It is a fact that people of both the countries enjoy Indo-Pak cricket and it is necessary for both the countries to have regular exchange of cricket tours because it minimises tensions and brings people together,” said Misbah.
Misbah denied players would be scared by recent tensions, sparked by a string of recent clashes in the disputed Kashmir region.
“When we play cricket, people forget everything,” he said. “We never expect and never fear any aggression. I am going to India with an open mind, with a message of friendship and peace, as always.”
Meanwhile, they have got the green signal to compete in the Champions League Twenty20, but Faisalabad Wolves players were on Sunday forced to shift out of the city after it emerged that their visas were only valid for Mohali.
The team arrived on Saturday after finally getting the visa to travel to India to play in the event starting on Tuesday. But they were forced to shift out of their hotels here to the clubhouse of Punjab Cricket Association stadium at Mohali due to visa issues.
“The PCA will accommodate them in the clubhouse for today and the BCCI is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry to see that they get visa for Chandigarh also. We are hopeful that it will be done by tomorrow and they will be shifted back to the Chandigarh hotel,” PCA Joint Secretary G S Walia told reporters.
“There are some issues and they are being sorted out,” added Faisalabad coach Naveed Anjum.
Kandurata Maroons of Sri Lanka and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the other two CLT20 teams which are currently based in Chandigarh.
Faisalabad were earlier denied visas on the ground that they faced a security risk in India. It was feared if the Faisalabad Wolves made their way up in the tournament, they would be playing at different cities across India and hence security could have been a problem.
Apart from New Zealand side Otago, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kandurata Maroons are the two other teams that Faisalabad will face in the qualifiers.
Faisalabad will be the second team from Pakistan, after Sialkot Stallions, to take part in the Champions League. The Stallions played the 2012 tournament in South Africa, but failed to qualify for the main round.