Cleared by their government after days of uncertainty over their participation, the Pakistani contingent arrived on Saturday in India to take part in the World Twenty20 cricket tournament as they landed here after a long flight.
The 27-member Pakistan cricket contingent arrived in the city from Abu Dhabi, finally ending days of suspension over their participation in the mega event.
The Pakistan contingent comprising 15 players, 12 officials and support staff reached the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 7:55 pm amid tight security after the Pakistan government finally gave their Cricket Board the green signal to fly to India.
Hundreds of fans gathered at the airport to welcome the Pakistan team as Shahid Afridi and his players came out of the airport. The Pakistani skipper reciprocated the warm gestures, waving at the crowd before leading his teammates into two buses as they went straight to the team hotel.
It took about an hour for the Pakistan players to clear their immigration formalities before they finally came out of the airport to the loud cheers of the fans gathered there.
Some fans were also heard shouting 'Three cheers for India'.
There were tight security arrangements for the Pakistani contingent with hundreds of security personnel from CISF and black commandos maintaining a vigil as the players landed at the airport.
The Pakistan contingent includes manager Intikhab Alam, the experienced former Test captain and a high profile security manager.
Due to the delay in their arrival, the Pakistan team has missed out on a warm-up match against Bengal which was scheduled for Friday. They will now play a practice game against Sri lanka here on Monday.
Waqar said that he had told the players to only focus on cricket and leave security issues to the boards and experts.
"We will take one match at a time and we are not thinking right now about the match against India on March 19. First we have to play Bangladesh and get past them. They are a very improved side now and have been hard to beat at home," he said.
The Pakistan contingent includes manager Intikhab Alam, the experienced former Test captain and a high profile security manager.
The Pakistan team, due to the delay in their departure for India, missed out on a warm-up match but Waqar said the practice game against Sri lanka will help them get ready for the round matches.
The squad has also left for India under a cloud of the inquiry committee formed by the PCB holding its first meeting on Friday to begin a probe to find out the reasons for the team's disappointing show in the recent Asia Cup in Bangladesh.
Pakistan's senior batsman Younis Khan, who is a member of the inquiry committee, decided to skip the meeting but Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq made his presence felt.