File photo of Saqib Mahmood© AFP
England fast-bowler Saqib Mahmood has finally been granted his visa for the side’s upcoming white-ball tour of India, starting with the T20I series opener in Kolkata on January 22. A report in Daily Mail said Mahmood was told on Thursday morning that his visa was granted and he will be able to join the rest of England’s touring party, with his passport expected to be back with him later in the day. The development means Mahmood will be able to board the same flight as his England teammates, with the tourists expected to arrive in India on Friday.
Previously, it emerged on Monday that Mahmood was still in England and his flight to attend a pace-bowling camp in the UAE, where he was to join Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Mark Wood alongside fast-bowling mentor James Anderson, had to be cancelled due to his passport still being there with the Indian Embassy, despite the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) initiating his paperwork well in advance.
The delay in Mahmood getting his visa in time is a familiar issue for England players with Pakistani heritage. 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.
Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed was held in entering Rajkot for the third game as he only had a single-entry visa. Mahmood also faced issues in getting his Indian visa twice – he had to be replaced in an England Lions squad for the India tour six years ago due to a delay in the process. A similar reason had resulted in Mahmood not travelling to a Lancashire pre-season camp in India held last year.
Mahmood, 27, was named Player of the Series in England’s white-ball tour to the West Indies in November last year. On the tour of the Caribbean, he picked nine wickets in three T20I matches and broke the record for the most Power-play wickets claimed by an England bowler in a men’s series.
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