New Delhi: Hostility between India and Pakistan showed its impact on the upcoming bilateral cricket series between India and England when the 20-year-old English off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was forced to return to the UK to facilitate his visa application. He has finally received his India visa, reports ESPNcricinfo, and will travel out to join England’s Test squad in Hyderabad over the weekend, but not before what has been termed “a protracted saga” in which he had been forced to return to the UK from the UAE to finalise the process, while the rest of his teammates travelled to India ahead of Thursday’s first Test.England team arrived in India on Sunday from Abu Dhabi without Bashir whose India visa had not come through on time. The British government had to intervene today, January 24, repeating its position that India should treat British citizens “fairly”. A government spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that the specifics of this case are a matter for Shoaib Bashir and the Indian government, but added, “We absolutely expect India to treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process. We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage experience applying for visas with the Indian High Commission in London.”Bashir, a Surrey-born British passport holder, has Pakistani origin and is likely facing similar visa issues like Australian batter Usman Khawaja, whose visa, too, arrived later for Australia’s India tour in early 2023. Khawaja was born in Islamabad. Responding to the fiasco, English captain Ben Stokes said he is “frustrated” by the delay with Bashir’s visa application, ESPNcricinfo reported. The delay in Bashir’s visa processing has ruled him out of the first test between India and England between January 25-29, 2024 in Hyderabad. The squad had hoped that Bashir would eventually join the team but subsequent delays ruled out the possibility. He initially hoped he would join his teammates in Hyderabad on Tuesday. But after further delays, the 20-year-old has returned home in the hope of facilitating the process.Similar delay was also experienced by the Pakistan team during the ICC ODI World Cup last year when it could secure visas for its players only a day before they were scheduled to fly out. The delay forced the team to cancel its pre-season training camp in Dubai. Similarly, a huge number of Pakistani fans were also refused entry into India to watch the ODI World Cup, leading to a huge controversy with cricket commentators criticizing India’s adamant stance. The BCCI was also criticised for not facilitating the visa approvals on time. Like all other applications of his team members, Bashir’s application was submitted soon after December 11 when the squad was named. Another player with Pakistani origin, Rehan Ahmed, however, has joined the team after getting his visa as most of his paperwork was done before the 2023 World Cup when he was a part of the team’s bench. “Especially as captain I find it particularly frustrating. We announced that squad in mid-December, and now Bash finds himself without a visa to get here. I am more frustrated for him. I didn’t want this type of situation to be his first experience of what it’s like to be in the England Test team. I feel for him,” Stokes said.“But he’s not the first cricketer to go through this, I have played with a lot of people who have had the same issues. I find it frustrating that we have picked a player and he’s not with us because of visa issues. Especially for a young lad, I’m devastated for him. It’s a frustrating situation to be in, but a lot of people have been trying to get it through. It’s unfortunate and I’m very frustrated for him,” he added. Bashir played impressively in a camp in November and earned himself a place in the national squad. The six-foot-four offspinner is said to have “a healthy amount of revolutions on the ball”, which led to his selection despite an ordinary first class record. He performed outstandingly at the Abu Dhabi camp and was touted as an offset in Indian spin bowling conditions. “Him not being able to be here rules him out,” Stokes said on Tuesday. “We didn’t come here with preconceived ideas about what we will do with the first team. In India you do like to have a good look at the pitch to see how it might play. With Bash unfortunately not able to be here, it rules him out of this game.”Renowned Australian cricket writer Peter Lalor made it a point to compare Bashir’s case with that of Khawaja. Funny how Usman Khawaja and now Shoaib Bashir both have visa issues getting into India. https://t.co/SjTZqU4EH8— Peter Lalor (@plalor) January 23, 2024
