Another Test, another visa issue for the England side. This time around, it was Rehan Ahmed who was on the receiving end of a visa snafu, that ultimately led to the leg-spinner being temporarily barred from exiting the Hirasar airport upon flying into Rajkot for the third Test against India.
According to Sportstar, Rehan was prohibited from re-entering India after the England squad’s mid-series break, which saw them fly back to Abu Dhabi, owing to the fact that the spinner possessed only a single-entry visa.
But, the issue was seemingly resolved for time being by local authorities, who granted Rehan a two-day visa to grant re-entry into the country and to join his teammates. The England board are optimistic that the issue will be fully resolved in the upcoming days, and will be working to ensure no further confusion of the same sort.
Rehan is the second player of the England squad to be denied entry into the country this year due to a visa issue, with the first one being fellow teammate and 19-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.
Bashir, who eventually arrived in Hyderabad for the first Test of the five-match series against India, was denied entry into the country owing to an invalid visa, which led to the spinner having to return back to the UK to get his visa stamped before returning back to India on January 28 — day four of the first Test — to rejoin his team.
Both Bashir and Rehan, despite their inexperience at the senior level in the international stage, have become pivotal pieces for England, as their lead spinner Jack Leach has returned back home after sustaining a knee injury.
Despite the pressure, both youngsters showcased their grit and talent in during the second Test, with Bashir scalping 4 wickets and Rehan scalping 6 wickets across both innings of the match for England, in a contest that the visitors ultimately lost by 106 runs.
Both India and England will now head into the third test, set to take place in Rajkot, starting from February 15, with the series tied 1-1.
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