Saqib Mahmood will join the England cricket team in Kolkata on Friday (January 17) to start the preparations for the India vs. England T20I series. The right-arm pacer, who was selected for the 15-man squad for both formats (ODIs and T20Is), wasn’t granted a visa by the Indian government until January 14.
This meant that he wasn’t able to travel to the UAE and prepare for the India tour but also the ICC Champions Trophy. In his absence, other pacers like Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Mark Wood trained under the guidance of their fast bowling coach, James Anderson.
Pakistan-origin players issue to getting a visa for India
The issue of not granting a visa to English players of Pakistani origin isn’t new. In the past, Saqib has been denied a visa to travel to India twice. He was able to join the England Lions in 2019 due to it and then again last year (2024) when Lancashire Cricket Club travelled to Bengaluru for their pre-season practice.
Shoaib Bashir had missed the opening match of the England tour of India last year due to the delayed arrival of his visa. Later on the same tour, Rehan Ahmed was held in Rajkot because he only had a single-entry visa. However, this time around only Saqib dealt with such problems, as Adil Rashid and Rehan were granted their visas earlier.
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England’s squad for India Tour
ODI: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood
T20I: Jos Buttler (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood
