Ahead of the much-awaited Test series between India and England, a controversy has erupted over the visa delay for visiting spinner Shoaib Bashir.
Amid his India visa delay, Bashir, a British citizen of Pakistani origin, has flown back to the UK from Dubai and will be missing the opening Test, starting on January 25 in Hyderabad.
Speaking ahead of the series opener, England skipper Stokes said he is ‘frustrated’ and ‘devastated’ for Bashir, insisting that they had announced their squad for the India series in mid-December.
On Wednesday (January 24), Stokes’ Indian counterpart Rohit Sharma gave a rather hilarious reply when asked about Bashir's absence from the travelling squad. However, the Indian captain hoped to see the uncapped spinner in action soon.
“I feel for him. He's coming here with the England setup for the first time. It's not easy for anyone. If it were one of our guys coming to England, and the visa was denied (it would be the same). Unfortunately, I don't sit in the visa office to give more details on that. But I hope he can make it here quickly, enjoy our country and play some cricket as well,” said Rohit in the pre-match presser.
Earlier, Stokes 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.
“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. 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,” Stokes said.
ECB’s MD (Operations) Stuart Hooper was in the UAE to speed up the visa process, but it didn't get the desired result.
“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,” the England captain added.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
