U19 World Cup: Visa, vaccine issues threaten to disrupt schedule

Although the warm-up matches for the U19 World Cup have already begun, doubts hover over teams' participation in the marquee tournament. The Afghanistan team has not yet been able to reach the West Indies because of visa issues while some Indian players were reportedly stuck before being allowed into Guyana because they were not fully vaccinated.

Afghanistan's warm-up matches this week against England and the UAE have been cancelled, the ICC intimated in a press release on Monday. The main tournament is scheduled to begin on January 15.

"The Afghanistan squad is yet to arrive in the West Indies due to delays in obtaining the necessary visas, whilst discussions attempting to resolve the issue are ongoing," the ICC release said.

The Indian team played their warm-up match against the hosts West Indies on Sunday, but they too had to overcome logistical issues. Seven members of the India Under-19 team were forced to spend a night at Port of Spain on January 4 as they were not fully vaccinated, the New Indian Express reported.

Some of the Indian players had not received their doses of vaccination, which is mandatory under local guidelines, the report said. The report added that BCCI sought diplomatic help in resolving the issue without further delay and that the seven players were allowed to travel to Guyana, where the team is currently based, the next day.

As it happened | India vs West Indies, U19 World Cup warm-up match

India beat West Indies by 108 runs in a practice match on Sunday.