Ahead of the five-match Test series, Shoaib Bashir of England faces visa issues and has yet to reach India
The England cricket team is without spinner Shoaib Bashir as they started training for their five-match Test series in India on Monday. The first Test starts on Thursday in Hyderabad, and Bashir, a surprise inclusion in the England squad, is stuck in the United Arab Emirates, where the team was training before flying to India, due to issues with his visa, according to reports.
Head coach Brendon McCullum, however, stated that he expects Bashir to be available for the first Test. The former New Zealand captain said that the England and Wales Cricket Board has escalated the issue, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India is helping out in the matter.
McCullum said, "Bash will join us hopefully tomorrow as well. He's got a couple of issues with his visa coming through. We're confident that the help from the BCCI and the Indian government will sort itself out pretty quickly as well. Things take time, don't they? Everyone is doing what they can. It's a process we need to go through. We're pretty confident that we're close. The time that Bash had with the squad over in Abu Dhabi, where he fit in seamlessly, will serve him greatly.”