England’s preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup are disrupted as the Indian government to issue visas Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed, who are of Pakistani heritage. The delay in the visa means both players are unlikely to travel to Sri Lanka with the rest of the squad this weekend. England are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is against Sri Lanka from January 22 to February 3, in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.
Notably, both Rehan and Rashid are part of the ODI and T20I squads and it is, for now, not yet known if they will be able to reach Sri Lanka in time for the ODI series. According to a report in The Guardian, the visa delays have not come as a surprise to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as the players with Pakistan background have received visas late from India even before.
A couple of years ago, Shoaib Bashir had to miss the first Test of the series against India as he had to fly back to London to complete the visa application process while Saqib Mahmood also faced issues in the past.
Indian government trying to expedite the process
However, the report further stated that the ECB has received assurances from the Indian government that it has no objection to both players’ applications but the timing is uncertain. It has also engaged help from the UK government in an attempt to expedite the process.
Rashid is currently in South Africa, playing in the SA20 while Rehan Ahmed is in Australia to feature in the Big Bash League (BBL) and England are hoping that the two players will be able to fly from there straight to either Sri Lanka or India, depending on when they get their visas.
The ECB is confident that the visas will be issued to the two players in time for the T20 World Cup. However, their participation in the matches in Sri Lanka remains uncertain. For the unversed, England will start their campaign in the World Cup against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against Nepal.
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