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KOLKATA: The Pakistan cricket team arrived in India on Saturday evening amid tight security to take part in the World Twenty20 championship, ending days of uncertainty over their participation in the tournament.
The team first travelled from Lahore to Abu Dhabi and rested there for some time before boarding an Etihad flight for Kolkata.
Pakistan will be meeting India in one of the most awaited games of the tournament at the Eden Gardens on March 19.
The 27-member squad consists of 15 players and 12 officials.
As soon as the players and officials stepped off their plane, a heavy security blanket unprecedented for a sports contingent wrapped the airport.
On Friday the Pakistan government had given the cricket board the green signal to send the team to India.
Head coach Waqar Younis, before departing for India, left a message on his Twitter account calling for unity. “Come on, together we can do it.”
He told media that though the departure of the team had been hit by uncertainty and security issues, the players’ focus now would only be on cricket and doing well in the world event. “We know that in India we will get a lot of hospitality because many of the players and officials have been to India before and they have seen this,” he said. “I have told the players to leave security issues to the boards and officials.”
Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2016
