England’s wonderkid Shoaib Bashir is still waiting for his visa in the UAE and has not travelled to Hyderabad with England Cricket Team. The reason? His parents are of Pakistan heritage. He is not the first player to face such issues. Australian opener Usman Khawaja also had his visa delayed last year. England have escalated the issue to BCCI and the Indian government. England head coach Brendon McCullum said he expects a positive news in the next 24 hours. IND vs ENG 1st Test begins on Jan 25.
“Bash (Shoaib Bashir) 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,” Brendon McCullum told reporters in Hyderabad ahead of IND vs ENG 1st Test.
The 20-year-old off-spinner got a surprise call-up for the India vs England series. Shoaib Bashir has only played six First Class matches, scalping 10 wickets in his career.
He was part of England’s 10-day camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the IND vs ENG Test series. While Ben Stokes & Co have arrived in Hyderabad, he is stuck in Abu Dhabi with Stuart Hooper, ECB’s Managing Director of cricket operations.
“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,” Brendon McCullum said.
“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.”
England Test squad: Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (Wk), Dan Lawrence, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
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