(Cricket news) Shoaib Bashir the 20-year old, has been in the news recently for being the only member of the English contingent yet to get a visa to travel to India. The spinner, who is of Pakistani heritage is still in the UK, facing delays over the processing of his visa. Both Rohit and Stokes have now expressed their support for 20-year old Shoaib Bashir.
Bashir was in contention for a spot in the eleven for the opening Test in Hyderabad, given the Indian conditions on offer. England have named an attack with three frontline spinners, of which he could well have been a part off ,but Bashir missed out as he is still in the UK sorting his Visa issues.
Shoaib Bashir was a part of the English camp which was held in the UAE and was picked up in the squad based on his impressive performances. It is a major set back for him given it was his first time travelling with the England squad.
England skipper Ben Stokes continued to voice his strong support for his teammate.
“When I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi, I did say we shouldn’t fly until Bash gets his visa but that was a little bit tongue in cheek,” said Stokes and added, “I know it’s a way bigger thing, doing that. That was probably just (my) emotions around the whole thing. There was never a chance that we were not going to travel around this but Bash knows he’s had our full support
“I’m pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this. As a leader, as a captain, when one of your team-mates is affected by something like that you do 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, he said”.
“I feel for him honestly, he’s probably coming for the first time with the England set-up. And obviously not easy for anyone, that could be one of our guys coming to England, who has been denied or not able to get the visa…” said Rohit Sharma in a pre-match press conference. “Unfortunately, I don’t sit in the visa office to give you more details. But I hope he can make it here quickly and enjoy our country and play some cricket as well,” he added.
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