Ben Stokes has revealed that the England squad briefly considered not traveling to India without Shoaib Bashir when they learned that visa issues would prevent him from entering the country with the rest of the group.
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Speaking less than 24 hours before the start of the first Test match in Hyderabad, Stokes reiterated his ‘frustration’ that Bashir has not been able to join the group. The uncapped off-spinner returned to England on Tuesday after being unable to travel with the squad from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad. It has been reported that Bashir, who was born in Surrey and is of Pakistani descent, has an appointment at the Indian High Commission to resolve the issues with his visa and allow him to join the squad in India.
“When I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi, I did say we shouldn’t fly until Bash gets his visa,” said Stokes. “But that was a little bit tongue in cheek. I know it’s a way bigger thing than doing that. That was probably just emotions around the whole thing. I’m pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this.
“As a leader, as a captain, when one of your teammates is affected by something like that, you get a bit emotional. I know he’s back in London and a lot of people are jumping through hoops to try and get this through quicker.
“Hopefully, we’re going to see him here over the weekend. There was never a [realistic] chance that we were ever not going to travel around this but Bash knows he’s had our full support.”
Bashir’s difficulties entering India have provoked strong reactions. Writing in the MailOnline, Ex-England player, coach and commentator David Lloyd called for England to boycott the start of the series until Bashir was allowed to join the squad.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the Test, Rohit Sharma said he “feels” for Bashir. “It’s not easy for anyone,” said Rohit. “It could be one of our guys wanting to come to England and being denied.”
🚨 England have announced their XI for the first Test against India 🚨
✅ Ben Stokes
✅ Tom Hartley
✅ Ben Foakes
❌ James AndersonMark Wood will be the only fast-bowler in their lineup, with Tom Hartley set to make his Test debut as one of three spinners.#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/5rsLHFhtFr
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 24, 2024
Bashir is the latest of several players with Pakistani heritage to face difficulty securing visas in time for international series’ in India. Usman Khawaja was unable to travel with the rest of the Australia squad for the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year. In 2019, Saqib Mahmood was withdrawn from an England Lions squad after significant delays in obtaining his visa.
