Rehan Ahmed delayed at Rajkot Airport as England visa issues resurface

England faced even more visa problems during their tour of India after Rehan Ahmed was prevented from leaving Hirasar airport, Rajkot, because he was not in possession of the correct documents.

Sports star reported on Monday that Rehan was barred from returning to India after England's mid-series break in Abu Dhabi because he only held a single-entry visa. After some delay, local authorities have managed to find a short-term solution to the problem, with England optimistic the problem will be fully resolved within the next 24 hours. All members of the traveling team and support staff were at the team hotel in Rajkot on Monday evening.

“We were informed, upon our return to India, that there was a discrepancy in the administrative formalities with Rehan Ahmed's visa,” the ECB said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “The local authorities at Rajkot Airport have been supportive, allowing Rehan to enter on a temporary visa. The correct visa is expected to be processed and issued in the coming days. He will continue to prepare with the rest of the team before the third Test.”

The issue comes weeks after Shoaib Bashir's arrival in India was delayed by a week due to the late issuance of his visa, causing him to miss the first Test in Hyderabad. Pakistani-born Bashir finally arrived on January 28 – the fourth day of the first Test – after initially staying in Abu Dhabi, where England had their pre-tour training camp, before returning to the UK to have your visa stamped. He then made his debut in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.

Like Bashir, Rehan was born in England and is of Pakistani origin, but had no initial difficulty entering the country thanks to a visa he had obtained in October as a substitute for the England 50s squad. years and older for the World Cup. As such, it is most likely a clerical oversight on the part of the ECB, given that the white-ball team had remained in India for the duration of their Cup campaign of the world, which ended in the group stages.

“The England team has been advised to process the visa again, which will take place in the next two days,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying in the newspaper. Hindustan Times. “The player has been allowed to enter the country with the rest of the team and will report to training on Tuesday.”

Regardless, it's an issue that shouldn't have arisen given the high-profile nature of Bashir's ordeal and the fact that England's six-day break in the United Arab Emirates between the second and third Test, which begins on Thursday, was scheduled. During months.

Ollie Robinson revealed earlier on Monday that he only received his visa the morning England initially flew to Hyderabad from Abu Dhabi last month, having learned the night before from team boss Wayne Bentley that a paperwork error had caused a delay. “He said, 'your visa has been denied' or something like that,” Robinson said on his podcast, Chat balls.

“There was a mistake at the ECB. I think they must have just put a wrong initial, or a letter must have been wrong. It didn't get through. He said to me: 'You're not coming in India, you have to do it”. stay here for another night… it could be two nights, it could be three nights, I don't know how long it will take. Luckily I woke up in the morning to a nice message from Wayne saying 'the visa is here'.”

Rehan has featured in both matches of the series so far, taking eight wickets at 36.37 and scoring 70 runs at 17.80, including a cameo of 23 at No. 3 during England's failed chase of 399 during the second test.

*05:20 GMT, Tuesday – The news was updated after the ECB's statement on the issue