One of West Indies's hero from the 1979 World Cup triumph, Collis King has been deported from England because of visa issues. Collis stays with his British wife in UK but now has to leave because of a technicality regarding his visa application.
King and his 138-run partnership with the great Vivian Richards in the 1979 World Cup Final against England, helped West Indies recover from a precarious position and they went on to lift the Prudential Cup for the second time. King's career, having played 9 Tests and 18 ODIs, came to an untimely end as he left to South Africa as part of the rebel tours.
He then played for several cricket clubs in England across various leagues. At 67, he still plays for Dunnington in Yorkshire and coaches the local players there.
Now, though, he is stuck in Barbados because of Britain’s strict immigration laws. His Barbadian passport, according to the report, was confiscated by the Heathrow airport staff before boarding his flight back to the Caribbean – because he was deemed to be at risk of absconding.
He was recently quoted telling The Telegraph about the issue as, “I felt like I was treated like a criminal, It has really shaken me that after all that time that I can’t stay. It really hit me for six.”
“I have been playing cricket in the UK for many years but I have always come back when my visa stated. I have never stayed longer than I was due to stay. If I had six months to play in the leagues, I would always come back on time. Never once in 44 years have I overstayed my time."
Collis applied for the visa last year but the plea was rejected and he was told that for a spousal visa he had to apply from the country of his origin and was given 14 days to leave the UK.
The hearing on the matter is yet to take place after 3 months.
Collis further said, “I was not born a British citizen but I have been going to Britain long enough to feel part of the English set-up. You cannot come to a country for so many years without loving the place. I have been coming and going, loving the country and that is the sad thing, really,”
(Inputs from Scroll.in)
