England fast bowler Saqib Mahmood has finally secured his visa ahead of the white-ball team's tour of India. Mahmood recently faced a delay in his visa process, due to which he also missed a training camp in the United Arab Emirates.
However, he will now travel with the England team to Kolkata for the first T20I of the series. The opening match of the T20I series will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on January 22. England will play a five-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series before going to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Read also: IPL 2025: Delhi Capitals brutally drop KL Rahul, hand over captaincy to this superstar
Saqib Mahmood finally secures a visa
Saqib Mahmood is of Pakistani origin, which is the main reason behind the delay in his visa process. The situation has also happened earlier with various cricketers of Pakistani origin like Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed.
However, Rashid and Rehan have already received their visas. Both the players, who are part of the England squad for the T20I series, are also from the same background. Mahmood was the only player to be granted a visa.
Saqib Mahmood faced similar problems in 2019 as well and was later replaced from the Ethe ngland Lions tour of India after a protracted visa process. He also missed Lancashire's pre-season tour of India after anticipating a similar problem.
Saqib Mahmood misses England camp
Before the tour of India, Mahmood was to attend a fast bowling camp in Abu Dhabi to acclimatise to Indian conditions. The camp was led by former England quick James Anderson, who is also the team's fast bowling consultant.
The camp featured England's best fast bowlers such as Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood. However, Mahmood could not travel with the team as his passport was still with the Indian Embassy at that time.
Saqib Mahmood recently overcame back-to-back stress fractures to mark his international comeback in 2024. He played in the T20I series against West Indies last year and finished with 9 wickets in just 4 matches at an excellent average of 10 .55 and an economic ratio of 6.33. .
The 27-year-old quick has played 2 Tests, 9 ODIs and 18 T20Is. He was also named in the England squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. He has a good ODI record with 14 wickets in 9 ODIs at an average of 26.85.
Same problem Shoaib Bashir is facing
Offspinner Shoaib Bashir was the recent cricketer who faced this problem and missed England's opening tour of India in early 2024, played in Hyderabad. However, England managed to win the match thanks to Tom Hartley's brilliant display of spin bowling.
Bashir returned in time for the second Test of the series and played in three Tests. But India came back strongly to win the series 4-1. Bashir made his Test debut in the series and finished with 17 wickets in three Tests.