Shoaib Bashir has finally received his visa for India and will travel to join up with the rest of the England squad this weekend.
The build-up to England’s five Test series with India had been marred after the Indian government had originally denied the uncapped spinner a visa to enter the country because of his Pakistani heritage.
This meant England landed in India with only 15 members of their 16-man squad, with Bashir forced to return to London from England’s Abu Dhabi training camp to try to sort out the mess.
However, on Wednesday lunchtime, the ECB confirmed the situation had finally been sorted at the fourth attempt.
They posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa and is due to travel to join up with the team this weekend. We’re glad the situation has now been resolved.’
Shoaib Bashir has finally received his Indian visa and will travel to join up with the rest of the England squad this weekend
Bashir, 20, had been denied a visa by the Indian government due to his Pakistani origins
Bashir, 20, could easily have been playing the first Test on Thursday and England captain Ben Stokes was clearly frustrated at the Indian government’s decision.
Speaking in Hyderabad, Stokes revealed he was so emotional when he heard that Bashir would not be allowed to travel with the team he briefly considered delaying the whole team’s arrival in India.
‘When I first found out the news out in Abu Dhabi I did say we shouldn’t fly until Bash gets his visa but that was a little bit tongue in cheek,’ said the England captain when announcing his side – which will feature four other spinners – on Wednesday.
‘I know it’s a way bigger thing than doing that. That was probably just emotions around the whole thing. I’m pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this.
‘As a leader, as a captain, when one of your teammates is affected by something like this you do get a bit emotional.
‘I know he’s back in London and a lot of people are jumping through hoops to try to get this through quicker. Hopefully we’re going to see him here over the weekend.
‘There was never a chance that we were ever not going to travel because of this but Bash knows he’s had our full support.’
Mail Sport reported on Tuesday how the Indian authorities had refused to allow Bashir into the country because of his Pakistani heritage, even though he was born in Surrey, holds a British passport and applied for his visa early last month.
England confirmed the situation had finally been sorted on X, early on Thursday afternoon
The uncapped spinner has 10 first-class wickets from six matches and is a wildcard selection
Amid England’s growing frustration, Bashir landed in the UK on Tuesday night after leaving the UAE, where he had impressed during a 10-day training camp.
He visited the High Commission of India in London on Wednesday to get his visa — which has now been approved — stamped in his passport.
It was Bashir’s fourth visit there in just over a month. He had an appointment cancelled without explanation and another at which he was told to re-apply by the Indian authorities.
Bashir, who is understood to be upset at the situation, has just 10 first-class wickets for Somerset from six matches and is a wildcard selection.
He was unlikely to have played in the first Test but Stokes made it clear he had wanted to have a look at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium wicket before ruling Bashir out of contention.
‘We didn’t come here with any pre-conceived ideas about what the team for the first Test would look like,’ he added on Tuesday. ‘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 does rule him out for this game.’
India captain Rohit Sharma also expressed his sympathy for the 20-year-old as he added: ‘I feel for him honestly.
‘Unfortunately I don’t sit in the visa office to give you more details on that but hopefully he can make it quickly, enjoy our country and plays some cricket as well.
England captain Ben Stokes had outlined his frustration at the whole situation this week
Lancashire spinner Tom Hartley will make his Test debut against India in the first Test
‘It’s not easy for anyone, it could be one of our guys wanting to come to England and being denied.’
England – who are further hampered by Harry Brook being forced to withdraw from their squad due to personal reasons – selected the three other spinners in their squad for the first Test which begins on Thursday.
Lancashire’s Tom Hartley will make his debut and he will be joined by Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed, while Joe Root is expected to also chip in with his off-spin.
Mark Wood is the only fast bowler in the XI, with Stokes unable to bowl following knee surgery late last year.
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