The Indian government has finally issued visas to the 15-member squad of Pakistan's national cricket team so that they can cross the border and play in next month's Cricket World Cup in India.
Pakistan will play their first match against the Netherlands on October 6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Indian Hyderabad. However, they are due to play a warm-up game against New Zealand in Hyderabad on September 29.
The visas were issued by the Indian High Commission late on Monday evening, mere hours before the squad was scheduled to cross the border.
In total, 39 visas had been issued for the team and staff.
The inordinate delay had caused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to lodge a complaint with the International Cricket Council.
PCB raised serious concerns with the sport's global body.
The board further conveyed in a letter that the anxious wait has adversely impacted the team's preparation for the tournament.
It also added that such inequitable treatment where visas for players, staff, fans, and journalists for three years is unacceptable.
Earlier on Monday evening, Indian media was abuzz that the visas had been granted. However, reports from Islamabad did not match that information, with PCB saying they had not received this information from the Indian diplomatic mission in Pakistan at that time.
Pakistan had announced a 15-member squad for the World Cup on Friday. It named three other backup players as well.
The major change included the absence of pacer Naseem Shah due to injury, with Hassan Ali taking his place.
The arch-rivals, which attract the biggest audience for any sport, only play each other about a few times a year in the Asia Cup or ICC tournaments due to the tense relations between the two countries.