England’s 19-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed was stopped at Rajkot’s Hirasar airport on February 12 ahead of the third Test against India. After Shoaib Bashir, Rehan is the second England player of Pakistan origin to face visa issues.
Why Rehan was stopped?
According to a report by Sportstar, the reason why Rehan was stopped from exiting the airport was the lack of a multi-entry visa. Rehan had a single-entry visa which expired after he went back to Abu Dhabi. The Ben Stokes-led England flew back to Abu Dhabi where they had a preparatory camp ahead of the series. After a week-long break, they landed back in India but Rehan did not have a multi-entry visa.
Rehan gets two-day visa
Rehan was made to wait at the airport. In the meantime, formalities were completed with the help of local authorities to grant him a two-day visa. While Rehan prepares for the third Test of the series, the remaining paperwork will be completed.
Rehan to lead spin attack
Ahead of the third Test, England’s veteran left-arm spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of the remaining of the Test series due to a knee injury he sustained in the Hyderabad Test. The team management did not name any replacement for Leach and decided to go with three speciallist spinners for the rest of the series with Joe Root as their fourth spin option.
In Leach’s absence, teenager Rehan will lead England’s spin attack. Made his test debut against Pakistan in Karachi, and he has played three Tests so far taking 15 wickets. In the Visakhapatnam Test, he took three wickets each in both innings. Earlier, he took a couple of wickets in the Hyderabad Test.
The Rajkot Test will begin at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot on February 15. The series is level at 1-1 after England lost the Vizag Test by 106 runs.
England’s Test squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Daniel Lawrence, Gus Atkinson
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