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A delay in the issuance of Indian visit visas has forced Pakistani sports journalists to miss their country’s opening one-dayer against India held in Guwahati on Monday.

A total of 46 Pakistani journalists have been given media accreditation for the ongoing India-Pakistan ODI series but none of them have been issued visas by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. No official explanation has been given for the delay.

Pakistani journalists planning to cover the series in India now fear that they might have to miss the second one-dayer as well. The second ODI is scheduled for Mohali on November 8. This is because none of the accredited journalists have so far received their passports back from the Indian High Commission.

All the journalists have applied for the visas through the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). According to a PCB official, the IHC officials have informed them that the visas would be issued on Tuesday.

“We have been informed that the visas would be issued on Tuesday which is why we believe that the journalists will be able to make it for the Mohali one-dayer,” said the official. Meanwhile, Indian media people were on Monday surprised at the absence of their Pakistani counterpart at the Guwahati one-dayer.

They thought that the reporters from the other side of the border failed to make it for the game due to the state of emergency imposed in Pakistan.

“So far no Pakistani media personnel have come to collect his media accreditation from me,” A PCB official was quoted as saying by a news agency on Monday. “Thirty-two journalists from the print media, nine from the electronic arm, three cameramen and two photographers have got the accreditation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as of now,” he disclosed. A BCCI official said that more journalists could be coming for the Test series, which starts from November 22 following the five-match ODI series finishing on November 18 in Jaipur.

Source:Cricket News

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