Shoaib Bashir was effectively ruled out of England’s opening Test in India after missing their second training session in Hyderabad as his agonising wait for a visa rumbled on.
Bashir, the 20-year-old spin-bowling rookie, was unable to travel from Abu Dhabi to India with the team on Sunday having not been granted a visa. He was left stranded in the UAE with Stuart Hooper, the former Bath rugby player who is now England’s director of cricket operations.
Brendon McCullum, the head coach, said on Monday that England were confident that “off the back of the help from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and the Indian government that it will sort itself out pretty quickly”.
McCullum’s confidence may have come from the fact that Jay Shah, who runs Indian cricket as the honorary secretary of the BCCI, is the son of the minister of home affairs Amit Shah.
But the wait for a visa continued into Tuesday as officials scrambled to get him into the country. That meant he missed training again, which effectively ruled him out of the first Test, even if he was to make it into the country on time, a scenario that looks increasingly unlikely.
Bashir was born in Chertsey, Surrey, but has Pakistani heritage, which is thought to explain his difficulty in securing the visa. His visa application was lodged at the same time as many other players, shortly after the squad was named on December 11.
But Bashir is the only member of England’s touring party, including travelling officials and media, who has had significant trouble securing a visa, but other cricketers with Pakistani backgrounds have had trouble entering India in the past. Ahead of last year’s Australia tour, Usman Khawaja, who was born in Islamabad, was made to wait for his paperwork, while the Pakistan national team were also delayed entering the country for the 2023 World Cup.
Rehan Ahmed, the other England player with Pakistani heritage, managed to secure a visa before the Test squad was named, because he had existing documentation due to being on standby for last year’s World Cup.
By contrast, Dan Lawrence, a late call-up to the England squad after Harry Brook returned home for personal reasons, has breezed into the country at short notice.
Mark Wood, the England fast bowler, described the situation as “frustrating” and hoped it could be resolved as quickly as possible.
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