ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday constituted a 14-member committee, headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, to decide the Pakistan cricket team’s participation in the World Cup to be held in India this year, ARY News reported.
The committee, headed by foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, includes the interior minister, the law minister, the Inter-Provincial Coordination minister, the information and broadcasting minister, the adviser on Kashmir affairs, the adviser on Establishment, the foreign secretary, PSPM and representatives of secret agencies and sensitive departments.
The committee has been authorised to consider Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup, say sources.
The committee would present its recommendations regarding the participation of the Pakistan team in the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 in India to PM Shehbaz, who will then take the final decision.
The development comes days after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wrote a letter to Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Interior and the Foreign Ministry to seek an official clearance to travel to India for the ICC Men’s World Cup in October-November.
In the letter, the PCB shared Pakistan’s schedule with the government, which says the team will play its nine league matches in five cities, including the big clash against India in Ahmedabad on October 15.
The ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 will begin on October 5 with holders England taking on runners-up New Zealand at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, which will also host the final.
Pakistan will clash with arch-rival India on October 15 at the same venue, which can accumulate a mammoth 130,000 fans.
As per the ICC-released schedule, a total of 10 teams will participate in the mega event – featuring 45 matches – and compete for the prestigious silverware across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19.
With the ongoing Cricket World Cup (CWC) Qualifier coming to its closure, the last two teams – Sri Lanka and the Netherlands – have also been locked in and thus all the 10 teams participating have been confirmed.
Like the previous edition, the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 will also be played in a round-robin format – each team playing nine matches with the rest of the opponents.
The top four teams by the end of the group stage will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled to be held in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16.
Whereas, the final of the tournament will take place on November 19 at the grand Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Notably, all three knockout matches of the ICC Men’s World Cup will have a reserve day.
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