IND vs ENG: England Star Yet To Join Squad In India Due To Visa Issues

England's uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has been left stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of Three Lions' five-match Test series against India.

England's uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.

Source : Getty

Hyderabad: England's uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has been forced to remain back in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of their five-match Test series against India. This is because of a delay in paperwork which has turn caused visa concerns due to which Shoaib has not been able to join his England teammates for the five-match Test series beginning at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad on January 25 (Thursday).

Consequently, the 20-year-old, born to parents of Pakistani origin, remains in Abu Dhabi which is where the England team had scheduled a training camp prior to their Test series in India. While the rest of his teammates have already flown in to Hyderabad before the Test series opener, Bashir is left stranded here.

England's coach in the Test setup Brendon McCullum confirmed that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has raised the visa issue with the authoritoes in the host board- the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as the Indian government while expecting that the issue could be resolved by Tuesday (January 23).

Shoaib Bashir Remains In Contention For Place In England XI For Hyderabad Test: McCullum

Interestingly though McCullum has not ruled Bashar out of contention for a place in the team in the series opener.

"Bash will join us hopefully tomorrow as well. He's got a couple of issues with his visa coming through. We're confident on the back of the help from the BCCI and the Indian government that will sort itself out pretty quickly as well," McCullum said ahead of the Test series opener as quoted by news agency PTI.

"Things take time, don't they? Everyone is doing what they can. It's a process we need to go through.

"We're pretty confident that we're close. The time that Bash had with the squad over in Abu Dhabi, where he fitted in seamlessly, will serve him greatly.

"We've also got a little bit of support out there for him, so he's not on his own. We're hoping the news will come through today that his visa has been approved, then we'll get him to sink his teeth into this series," he added.

(With Inputs From PTI)