As there is less than a month for the marquee event of the T20 World Cup 2026, the International Cricket Council has stepped in to streamline visa formalities for all 42 players and officials of Pakistan origin who are set to travel to India for the T20 World Cup. Usually the VISA process for the Pakistan origin players take more time than for other countries and since the World Cup is less than a few weeks so the ICC has stepped in to speed up the process.
USA pacer Ali Khan had earlier posted on Instagram that his VISA did not get approved and there were also a lot of reports coming that many players of Pakistan origin have still have not received their VISA. But as per the latest update from, PTI it is learned that visas have already been cleared for England players Adil Rashid, Rehan Ahmed and Saqib Mahmood. While the players of the Netherlands squad have also received their visas. Canada staff member Shah Saleem Zafar has been granted clearance too.
The Visa arrangements are currently underway for players and officials of Pakistan nationality or origin who are part of teams from United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, Italy, Bangladesh and Canada and the players are expected to get their VISA soon. For these teams, visa appointments have already been scheduled for early next week, indicating that the process is moving into its final phase.
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The deadline for visa issuance for players who will be part of World Cup is January 31. Hence clearances are seen as an important early step and given the diverse representation of players of Pakistani origin players across different teams it is an important matter and will be resolved soon.
