Shoaib Bashir's visa delay: In a colossal blow to England, Shoaib Bashir has been ruled out of the opening Test against India due to visa issues. Notably, 20-year-old Shoaib Bashir has flown back to England to resolve the to visa issues, and will miss the first Test against India, which is set to start from January 25. This setback stopped the Pakistan-origin spinner from joining his England teammates for the India tour.
At just 20 years old and on his first major tour with England, Bashir, who was born in Surrey to Pakistan-origin parents, has encountered the same visa issues that have previously affected other cricketers with Pakistani heritage traveling to India. Similar incidents have been experienced by Moeen Ali and Saqib Mahmood, as well as Australia's Usman Khawaja prior to their Test tour last year.
Bashir was training with the English team in the UAE for the upcoming five-match Test series against India. However, as his teammates departed for India, Bashir faced visa issues and was left behind in the UAE. He was later instructed to travel to London with his passport to obtain the necessary documents from the Indian High Commission. Regarding this matter, a UK government spokesperson informed AFP that although they couldn't comment on the specifics of this case, they have discussed the general issue with the Indian government.
"Our position is that British citizens should be treated fairly when going through this process." the spokesperson said.
Bashir's remarkable performance during an England Lions training camp in November earned him a selection. Standing at six feet four inches, he impressed as an offspinner capable of generating a significant amount of spin on the ball. This display of skill led the selectors to consider his potential beyond the modest statistics of just 10 wickets at an average of 67 from six First-Class matches.
Bashir is the second England player to return to UK after Harry Brook. Few days back, Brook returned to UK citing personal reason, which ruled him out of the Test series against India. After Brook's withdrawal, England announced Dan Lawrence as his replacement for the Test series against India. An initial announcement from the ECB suggested that Harry Brook had pulled out of the entire series. However, it is now believed that he might come back to India at a later date.
Talking about Lawrence, he is familiar to playing in Indian conditions as he was part of the England squad that toured for a Test series in 2021. During that series, he participated in two of the four Tests. Notably, in the fourth Test at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, he scored 46 and 50, although England lost the match by an innings and 25 runs, resulting in a 1-3 series defeat. Since his debut against Sri Lanka in 2021, Lawrence has played in 11 Tests, scoring 551 runs at an average of 29 and a strike rate of 53.86. The right-handed batsman has hit four half-centuries, with his highest score of 91 coming against the West Indies in March 2022 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir,Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
India's squad first two Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajat Patidar Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan
England vs India's schedule for five-match Test series in 2024
1st Test: January 25-29, 2024 (Hyderabad)
2nd Test: February 2-6, 2024 (Vizag)
3rd Test: February 15-19, 2024 (Rajkot)
4th Test: February 23-27, 2024 (Ranchi)
5th Test: March 7-11, 2024 (Dharamsala)
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