Saqib Mahmood gets visa for India tour after delay
England fast-bowler Saqib Mahmood has finally received his visa for the team's upcoming white-ball tour of India, starting with the T20I series opener in Kolkata on January 22.
Mahmood, who is of Pakistani heritage, had faced a delay in procuring the travel document, forcing him to miss an England training camp in the UAE. The 27-year-old Lancashire seamer will join the touring English party in the UAE, where the team held a pace-bowling camp for the likes of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Mark Wood alongside fast-bowling mentor James Anderson, on their way to India.
Two other members of the T20I squad of similar background - Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed - had however received their visas earlier. Mahmood had encountered similar issues in the past and, in 2019, he had to be replaced in an England Lions squad for the India tour due to a delay in obtaining his visa. A similar reason had prevented Mahmood from travelling to India for a Lancashire pre-season camp last year.
Also last year, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was forced to fly back to London on the eve of England's five-match Test series against India as he had to obtain his visa, which kept him out of the first game in Hyderabad.
Mahmood, who is of Pakistani heritage, had faced a delay in procuring the travel document, forcing him to miss an England training camp in the UAE. The 27-year-old Lancashire seamer will join the touring English party in the UAE, where the team held a pace-bowling camp for the likes of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Mark Wood alongside fast-bowling mentor James Anderson, on their way to India.
Two other members of the T20I squad of similar background - Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed - had however received their visas earlier. Mahmood had encountered similar issues in the past and, in 2019, he had to be replaced in an England Lions squad for the India tour due to a delay in obtaining his visa. A similar reason had prevented Mahmood from travelling to India for a Lancashire pre-season camp last year.
Also last year, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was forced to fly back to London on the eve of England's five-match Test series against India as he had to obtain his visa, which kept him out of the first game in Hyderabad.