India's politics in sports continues, Pakistani-born English cricketer Saqib Mahmood still denied visa
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Saqib Mahmood has been included in both the T20 and ODI squads for England against India, and is also part of England's squad for the Champions Trophy.
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
New Delhi (News International Latest Newspaper. January 14, 2024) The England cricket team's upcoming white-ball tour has been hit by a hitch as a report says that Saqib Mahmood has not yet been granted a visa and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was forced to cancel his flight a few days ago.
England is scheduled to tour India for a 5-match T20I and 3-match ODI series, with the first match of the series to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on January 22.
According to a Daily Mail report, Saqib Mahmood was scheduled to leave for a pace bowling camp in the United Arab Emirates last Thursday but it is not yet clear whether he will be able to join the tour with his passport, which is still with the Indian embassy.
Saqib Mahmood, who was born to British Pakistani parents, has been waiting for a decision for the past few days and is still unsure whether he will be allowed to travel with the rest of the England players this Friday.
His England teammates Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carus and Mark Wood are training in Abu Dhabi with fast bowling coach James Anderson, with the 27-year-old unable to bowl outside due to freezing temperatures in the UK.
During England's most recent white-ball tour of the West Indies in November, Mahmood surpassed the mark for the most power-play wickets by an England bowler in a men's series, taking nine wickets in three matches and being named player of the series.
The UAE tour was intended to acclimatise England seamers to the conditions ahead of India's white-ball tour and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE next month.
Despite applying long ago, the ECB was unable to secure a visa for Saqib Mahmood to travel to India as a member of the England Lions in 2019 due to his Pakistani origin.
Last year, Lancashire travelled to India without Saqib Mahmood after he failed to apply for a visa.
Last year, Shoaib Bashir faced similar problems due to his Pakistani origin. He had to fly back to London on the day of England's Test series against India to obtain his visa, while Rehan Ahmed was kept in Rajkot because he only had a single-entry visa.
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