“We have been in talks with the Volleyball Federation of India about the issue and have been assured of the clearance. We are confident that we will get the visas and fly out just in time,” Secretary of the Pakistan Volleyball Federation Muhammad Afzal told Dawn.com. -Photo by APP

Pakistan's volleyball team got a last-minute reprieve and will now participate in the third Asian Central Zone Volleyball Championship after securing visa clearance for its players from Indian authorities just two days before the start of the event.

“We had been in talks with the Volleyball Federation of India about the issue and have been assured of the clearance. We are confident that we will get the visas and fly out just in time,” Secretary of the Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) Muhammad Afzal told Dawn.com.

The news comes as a much needed boost for Pakistan's volleyball team which has recently missed out on a number of international tournaments due to a lack of funds.

Earlier, in a press release the PVF had revealed that its team had not been granted the visa clearance and Pakistan were effectively ruled out of the tournament.

The squad for the championship will be led by Zaheer Abbas while the rest of the team is yet to be named.

The event runs from September 16-20.