LAHORE, July 12: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) failed to send a national women team to Holland to take part in the IWCC Trophy because the visas could not be obtained after the closure of the Dutch Embassy in Islamabad due to security concern.

The competition is scheduled to start from July 21.

PCB without having a clear permission from the international body had been selecting and preparing the national team for the event.

A group based in Karachi, considering itself as the genuine member of the IWCC was also preparing a team.

However, the closure of the Embassy deprived both the groups an opportunity of proving themselves right or wrong.

PCB chairman Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia and chief executive Ramiz Raja had been claiming that only the PCB’s selected team would take part in the tournament.

According to a PCB spokesman, the Royal Netherlands Embassy had been closed at Islamabad because of security reasons, therefore the travel visas could not be arranged for the team.

“The PCB has been forced to pull out its team from the competition for reasons that are beyond its control. PCB had wanted to field a unified and best possible team that could represent Pakistan. In that connection, a training camp was in progress  at  the Gaddafi Stadium.

“But with  this  latest development, the camp has been concluded with immediate effect,” a spokesman of PCB said.

The spokesman, however, clarified that PCB could not secure visas for the team because it had not been officially invited by the IWCC for the qualifying rounds.

“The IWCC did’t send us the official invitation for the qualifying round because it still doesn’t recognise us.