Image Credit- ECB
Shoaib Bashir’s visa application is still being
delayed, forcing the Somerset off-spinner to return to the UK and missing the
first Test, according to Ben Stokes, who describes himself as
“frustrated” by this development. Bashir is planning to tour India
with England.
Without Bashir, who stayed in Abu Dhabi where the team
had been preparing for the series, along with Stuart Hooper, the director of
cricket operations for the ECB, England arrived in India on Sunday. First, it
was thought he would travel to Hyderabad on Tuesday to be with his colleagues.
However, following more delays, the 20-year-old has gone back home in the hopes
of speeding up the procedure.
Bashir holds a British passport and was born in
Surrey. However, due of the long-standing conflict between the two neighbours,
he is facing all too familiar difficulties when trying to enter India as a
person of Pakistani descent.
Usman Khawaja, an Islamabad native, experienced a
similar visa delay in the past year, which caused him to come late for his tour
of Australia at the beginning of 2023. Pakistan had to postpone a pre-season
training camp in Dubai since their visas for the previous ODI World Cup were
only granted a day before their scheduled departure.
Bashir’s application was filed shortly after the team
was announced on December 11th, along with those of the other players and
support personnel. The other England player on this tour with a similar
history, Rehan Ahmed, had the paperwork already completed from his time as a
World Cup standby.
It is anticipated that Bashir would arrive by the
weekend. However, Stokes is still irritated by the experience he’s had at the
beginning of his first tour to England.
“Especially as captain I find it particularly
frustrating,” Stokes said.
“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.
“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.”