England cricketer Shoaib Bashir granted visa: MEA sources

England cricketer Shoaib Bashir has finally got an India visa even though the travel formalities were completed too late for the youngster to make his debut in the first Test starting in Hyderabad on Thursday. This comes after the British Prime Minister got involved in the matter and there was much outrage in that country’s media.

A source in India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that Bashir had been granted a visa on his return to the United Kingdom. It is also learnt that the reason his application got cleared much later than the other members of the England team was his Pakistani origin.

“There is a process in place and in line with that process, clearance was received earlier this week. 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,” the source said.

Bashir’s visa application was made in December, along with all of his England teammates, after the touring party was announced. But while the other players, as well as the coaching and support staff, received their visas well in time, the 20-year-old Bashir had to stay back in the UAE where the England squad had a pre-tour training camp before leaving for India. The Somerset off-spinner eventually had to return to England when it was reportedly said that he had to present himself personally at the Indian High Commission to get a visa.

Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, another England player with Pakistani roots, is also in the squad but he has been allowed in as he possessed the necessary documents having been one of the standbys for the World Cup held in India in October-November.

Hyderabad: England’s Rehan Ahmed during a practice session ahead of the first test cricket match between India and England, at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad,Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)

With England including all three of the specialist spinners available in their XI for the first Test, it’s quite conceivable that Bashir may have been in with a chance to make his Test debut in Hyderabad.

“I find it particularly frustrating,” England captain Ben Stokes said on Tuesday. “We announced the squad in mid-December, and now Bash finds himself without a visa to get here.

“I am more frustrated for him. I didn’t want this type of situation to be his first experience of what it’s like to be in the England Test team. I feel for him.”

Stokes’ Indian counterpart also expressed sympathy.

“I feel for him honestly,” said Rohit Sharma. “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. It’s not easy for anyone. It could be one of our guys wanting to come to England and being denied.”

There’s history

It’s not the first time that Pakistani players or those of Pakistani heritage representing other teams have faced delays in getting Indian visas.

The Pakistan team received their visas for travel into India for the World Cup almost at the eleventh hour despite applying well in time. As a result, they had to cancel their pre-tournament camp in the UAE. Journalists from across the border faced the same problems while Pakistani fans were almost totally absent.

Moeen Ali and Saqib Mahmood are England players who have suffered visa delays in the past – Moeen when he was to play in the 2022 Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings, and Mahmood who was selected for an England Lions Tour in 2019.

Even Australia batsman Usman Khawaja, also of Pakistani descent, had his visa delayed ahead of the Test series in India a year ago.

The Bashir issue got even the office of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak involved, with a spokesman saying that it was not the first instance of this type and the government expects British citizens to be treated fairly by the Indian visa process.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of this case. But more broadly, we have previously raised issues of this kind with the High Commission. We have been clear that we expect India to treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa processes,” said the spokesperson.

“We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage have experienced. We’ve raised the issues about their experience of applying for visas with the Indian High Commissioner in London.”

The media there had also been incensed, with some arguing that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) should have put its foot down and the team not entered India till Bashir received a visa. Others wondered how India could expect to host the Olympics and other big global events if the country was not welcoming to all.

“India’s name is relentlessly advanced as welcoming hosts — of future Olympics, maybe even a football World Cup. How so, when there is the appearance of discrimination at work in the offices of government?” wrote Martin Samuel in The Times.

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