Shoaib Bashir in a training session. (Courtesy: ECB/X)
Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad blasted the English media for crying foul over the Shoaib Bashir visa row. In response to an article in The Telegraph UK, headlined, “”England should refuse to play in first Test after India’s shameless Shoaib Bashir stunt,” Prasad highlighted that the visa needed to be stamped in the United Kingdom but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) did not follow the basic procedure.
“His visa needed to be stamped in the UK. The ECB sent Shoaib Bashir to the UAE, thinking it would be stamped in a third country. Not following basic procedures , assuming things and then crying foul is an old English way. If anyone, it is the ECB at fault,” Venkatesh Prasad tweeted.
His visa needed to be stamped in the UK. The ECB sent Shoaib Bashir to the UAE, thinking it would be stamped in a third country.
Not following basic procedures , assuming things and then crying foul is an old English way.
If anyone, it is the ECB at fault. https://t.co/Fw8tG0XsD8— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) January 24, 2024
Bashir, who is set to make his Test debut in India, was unable to join rest of the England squad after a training camp in Abu Dhabi due to the visa issue. He remained unavailable for the first of five Test series, which started in Hyderabad on Thursday.
The Somerset spinner, meanwhile, flew back to London from Abu Dhabi to complete the require paperwork for his entry to India. The ECB on Wednesday confirmed that Bashir received his visa and is set to join remainder of the squad in India, this weekend. The matter was fast-tracked after the UK government intervened into the matter.
Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa, and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend.
We're glad the situation has now been resolved.#INDvENG | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/vTHdChIOIi
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 24, 2024
“Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa, and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend,” the board said in a statement. “We”re glad the situation has now been resolved.”
In absence of Bashir, England have opted for picked up for spinners for the Test opener, including Test debutant Tom Hartley and occasional off-spinner Joe Root.
