UK Government Urges India to Ensure Fairness in Visa Process Amid Shoaib Bashir’s Return Home

The UK government has called for fairness from India in arranging a visa amid Shoaib Bashir’s ongoing struggle to enter India. The British government has come up with the intervention as captain Ben Stokes expressed his frustration on the youngster being denied a visa for the Test tour in India.

Bashir was supposed to fly with the team and support staff on Sunday but was stranded with ECB’s director of cricket operations Stuart Hooper in the UAE.

As per the reports, Bashir moved back to London on Wednesday as his vas has received a stamp of approval from the Indian High Commission in London.

A UK government official spoke to ESPN Cricinfo and stated “The specifics of this case are a matter for Shoaib Bashir and the Indian Government. But we expect India to treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process. We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage experience applying for visas with the Indian High Commission in London.”

Other players of Pakistani heritage who have faced similar difficulties include Moeen Ali, Saqib Mahmood, and most recently Usman Khawaja.

Ben Stoke’s Reaction to Shoaib Bashir Visa Problem

Ben Stokes is ready to take the Test series against India. He hopes to see the spinner in India by the weekend so that he can focus on the remaining part of the series.

Hopefully, we are going to see him back in India over the weekend. My feelings towards it haven’t changed. It’s a frustrating situation – more importantly, for him. We announced our squad in mid-December. It’s now January 24 and he still doesn’t have the visa. Unfortunately, he’s had to go through something like this on his first experience of being in the England team,” Ben Stokes said.

England, meanwhile, have handed a debut to Tom Hartley, for the 1st Test against India in Hyderabad, which begins on Thursday (January 25).

Rohit Sharma’s Reaction to Shoaib Bashir’s Delayed Arrival in India

At the pre match press conference, Rohit Sharma said, “I feel for him. He’s coming here with the England setup for the first time. It’s not easy for anyone. If it were one of our guys coming to England, and the visa was denied (it would be the same).

Unfortunately, I don’t sit in the visa office to give more details on that. But I hope he can make it here quickly, enjoy our country, and play some cricket as well.”

“I find it frustrating that we have picked a player, and he’s not with us because of visa issues. It’s a frustrating situation to be in, but a lot of people have been trying to get it through.”