24 January 2024 , 13:15
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India have finally granted a visa to England cricketer Shoaib Bashir - but he will not play in the upcoming Test in Hyderabad.
Bashir, 20, was called up by England for their Test series in India after a breakthrough summer with Somerset. The off-spinner travelled to England's training camp in Abu Dhabi and was expected to be given his visa before their flight to India last Sunday.
But that didn't happen. Bashir, who is of Pakistani heritage, was forced to travel back to London to visit the Indian Foreign Office. That delay ruled him out of the first Test, which starts on Thursday. The youngster would've had a good chance of playing.
England were urged to boycott the first Test amid Bashir's visa delay, but captain Ben Stokes insisted there was "never a chance" of that happening at his pre-match press conference. Stokes has named his XI, which features three frontline spinners, for the Test.
"The visa has been issued by London," a spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Office confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. "There are rules and regulations governing the issuance of an Indian visa. The same were being applied in this case."
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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) added: "We're glad the situation has now been resolved. Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa, and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend."
Bashir is hoping to make his Test debut for England in India (Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo/REX/Shutterstock)It's not the first time a cricketer of Pakistani heritage has struggled to get a visa to work in India. Australia opener Usman Khawaja's entry into India ahead of last year's Test series was also delayed, although he did not miss any Tests. And every member of Pakistan's squad for last year's World Cup, which took place in India, faced delays.
Although Bashir will be available for the second Test, Stokes has expressed his disappointment at the situation. He said: "When I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi, I did say we shouldn't fly until Bash gets his visa but that was a little bit tongue in cheek.
"I know it's a way bigger thing, doing that. That was probably just (my) emotions around the whole thing. There was never a chance that we were not going to travel around this but Bash knows he's had our full support.
"I'm pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this. As a leader, as a captain, when one of your team-mates is affected by something like that you do get a bit emotional. I know he's back in London and a lot of people are jumping through hoops to try and get this through quicker. Hopefully we're going to see him here over the weekend."