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England cricketer Shoaib Bashir got the visa clearance to travel to India for the forthcoming five-match Test tour. The youngster will join the rest of the squad in Hyderabad over the weekend, after a series of events that demanded the youngster travel to the UK from the UAE to complete the formalities. However, the rest of the team had already reached India for the first Test, commencing on January 25, Thursday. With the delay in the formalities, Bashir missed his chance to make his debut in the first Test of the series.
Also read: Who is Shoaib Bashir?
The development came after the British Prime Minister got involved, and Bashir received an Indian visa after his return to the UK. It has been learned that the reason behind the delay in other England players was his Pakistani origin.
Bashir receives Indian visa day before first Test
The England and Wales Cricket Board released a statement announcing Bashir got his Indian visa. The statement read, “Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa, and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend. We're glad the situation has now been resolved.” Earlier, a source in India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed to the Indian Express that the cricketer received his visa. As per the source, “There is a process in place and in line with that process, clearance was received earlier this week.”
It added, “Officials at the High Commission in London were in touch with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to ensure that the player’s visa is issued to him immediately. However, the player travelled to Abu Dhabi. By the time he was reached out, he had returned to London. Now since he has submitted his passport today, his visa was issued so that he could join his team.”
