Bashir has flown back to the UK from Dubai and will be missing the opening Test due to visa delay.
Bashir, a British citizen with Pakistani roots, is facing issues with his visa. The highly-anticipated Test series is slated to get underway on January 25 in Hyderabad.
Amid his visa delay, Bashir has flown back to the UK from Dubai and will be missing the opening Test.
Speaking ahead of the series opener, Stokes said he is ‘devastated’ for Bashir, insisting that they had announced their squad for the India series in mid-December.
“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 stated.
He pointed out that Bashir is not the first cricketer to go through this, calling the whole situation unfortunate. Notably, Australian opener Usman Khawaja also faced similar issues and arrived late for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India last year.
“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,” Stokes added.
The England skipper confirmed that the visa delay has ruled Bashir out of the first Test. The 20-year-old spinner impressed one and all with his brilliant showing during the England Lions’ training camp in November and would have been in the selection reckoning for the opening Test considering the spin-friendly tracks in India.
“Him not being able to be here rules him out. 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,” said Stokes.
England’s Test squad for India tour:
Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (WK), Dan Lawrence, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
(With ESPNCricinfo inputs)