ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Founder President of South Asian Sports Journalists Association (SASJA) Asghar Ali Mubarak has written a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief in which he has demanded immediate issuance of visas to Pakistani sports journalists.
In the letter, he wrote that “I (Asghar Ali Mubarak) have a deep connection with the history of Cricket World Cup 1996. He said that he wanted to celebrate the event of World Cup 1996 which was South Africa vs defending champion England match India.”
South Africa vs England is scheduled to be played on October 21 in Mumbai.
“Because I was affected by an unfortunate incident in the 1996 World Cup and got extraordinary fame,” he wrote.
The unpleasant incident was discussed worldwide after Michael Atherton, the captain of the British cricket team, said inappropriate words in the press conference of the England-South Africa match.
On which sports journalist Asghar Ali Mubarak demanded a public apology and the matter ended after Michael Atherton apologized during his visit to Pakistan this year.
Asghar Ali Mubarak said that cricket should not be subject to politics. If the Pakistan cricket team is playing in India, it is the fundamental right of Pakistani journalists and cricket fans to go to India and participate as a citizen of the commonwealth country. He demanded ICC, BCCI, PCB and other cricket boards to play their role. Asghar Ali Mubarak said that if they do not issue visas for World Cup coverage in India, then India will not be covered in the future. , It should be remembered that Pakistan will play its third and the biggest match of the World Cup in the international event against the arch-rival India on October 14 at the Narendra Modi Stadium with a capacity of 132,000 spectators in Ahmedabad.
The match between Pakistan and India was earlier scheduled for October 15 at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad but the BCCI had expressed security concerns regarding the important match on October 15 as the day falls on a religious festival in India.
On the request of the Indian board, the match has now been shifted a day earlier and the match between the two traditional rivals will be played on October 14. Due to the change of this match, the schedule of other matches has also been changed, including the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Similarly, Bengal Cricket Association had requested to shift the match between Pakistan and England scheduled at Eden Gardens in Kolkata to another date as November 12 is the most important festival of the city and the region ‘Kali Pujo’. The association had written to the BCCI Secretary Jay Shah requesting to change the date after the police informed about security concerns due to a religious festival in the city.
Now the match between Pakistan and England will be played on November 11.
