The UK government has called on India to “treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process” after England spinner Shoaib Bashir was forced to return home to sort out his visa issues. The 20-year-old was temporarily left stranded in Abu Dhabi while his teammates flew to the country ahead of Thursday’s first Test in Hyderabad.
He is now heading back to London where he’ll have to present his passport to embassy officials. The Somerset spinner, a surprise selection in December having played just 10 red ball matches, is expected to fly back to India next week.
And now Government officials have come out in support of the player. “The specifics of this case are a matter for Shoaib Bashir and the Indian Government, a spokesperson told ESPN cricinfo.
“But we absolutely expect India to treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process. We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage experience applying for visas with the Indian High Commission in London.”
In his pre-match press conference, England captain Ben Stokes lamented the notion that Bashir’s first experience of international cricket had been soured by the controversy. “Hopefully, we are going to see him back in India over the weekend,” said the all-rounder.
“My feelings towards it haven’t changed. It’s obviously a frustrating situation – more importantly, for him. We announced our squad mid-December. It’s now January 24 and he still doesn’t have the visa.
“Hopefully we can get this sorted, we can get Bash out here and he can concentrate on the rest of this tour. It’s unfortunate he’s had to go through something like this on his first experience of being in the England team.”
India captain Rohit Sharma has also expressed sympathy, and said he hoped Bashir would be able to get to India “quickly.” The second Test gets underway in Visakhapatnam on Friday, February 2.
Bashir, a British muslim born and raised in Surrey, is facing delays due to his Pakistani heritage. Australian opener Usman Khawaja, whose parents were born in Islamabad, also arrived late for his country’s tour of India last year after encountering similar issues.
