Pakistan-born Australia star "stranded" with visa issues preventing India entry

01 February 2023 , 12:11

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Usman Khawaja is yet to be granted a visa for Australia's upcoming Test series in India (Image: ASIF HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia opener Usman Khawaja has been prevented from flying out to Bangalore with his teammates ahead of their Test series against India due to visa issues.

Australia's squad took staggered flights to India on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Khawaja, who was born in Pakistan before moving to Australia when he was four, remains in Sydney waiting to see if he will be granted a visa.

The 36-year-old said he had been left "stranded", sharing a meme on social media from Netflix series Narcos. He captioned the post "Me waiting for my Indian Visa like..." and also included the hashtags "stranded", "dontleaveme", "standard" and "anytimenow".

The visa process for entry into India asks applicants whether they or their parents are of Pakistani origin and it is not the first time Khawaja has had issues entering the country. Back in 2011, Khawaja was denied a visa to represent New South Wales in the T20 Champions League tournament that was being staged in India.

He was later granted a visa, but voiced his frustration on Twitter at the time, writing: "Indian Visa department need to sort their issues out. Refusing to let me travel to India as an Australian, because I wasn't born here. Wow."

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And after then teammate Moises Henriques noted that he had not had the same issues despite being born in Portugal, Khawaja replied: "It wasn't that I wasn't born here but where I was [born] brother."

Australia are reportedly hopeful Khawaja will be granted a visa, having previously toured India with the Test team in 2013, Australia A in 2018 and the ODI team in 2019. He also played there in 2016 for IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiant.

Khawaja was recently named the inaugural Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year, having struck 1,020 runs at an average of 78.46 after earning a recall for the 2022 Sydney Ashes Test and smashing twin centuries.

Australia are set to play four Tests against India, with the series beginning on February 9 in Nagpur. They will not play a tour match before the series starts, having instead opted for those players not involved with the Big Bash to take part in a two-day in Sydney ahead of the trip to India.

Matthew Cooper