The visa issues, it seems, are not letting England cricket team sleep peacefully on their ongoing India Vs England Test tour of India as after off-spinner Shaoib Bashir's visa delay, leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed had to go through a similar ordeal. Rehan had a single-entry visa and was stopped at the Rajkot International Airport while coming back to India from Abu Dhabi where the England team had a week's camp.
As per Sportstar, since Ahmed only had a single-entry visa he was denied re-entry into the country but the authorities came to his rescue with a short-term solution and the leggie was allowed back in the country. Now a day later, ECB has issued a statement saying that the correct visa will be processed in a few days.
"We were advised, on returning to India, that there was paperwork discrepancy with Rehan Ahmed's visa. The local authorities at Rajkot Airport were supportive, enabling Rehan entry on a temporary visa. The correct visa should be processed and issued in the coming days. He will continue to prepare with the rest of the squad ahead of the third Test," ECB's statement on Tuesday, February 13 read.
If not for the airport authorities' quick redressal step, England would have been staring at having just two spin-bowling options in Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir for the third Test given that Jack Leach has been ruled out and the visitors have decided against calling for a replacement.
The series is currently levelled 1-1 after India came back strongly into the five-match assignment with a 106-run win in the second game in Visakhapatnam. England will be aiming for an improved show after a shoddy batting display in the second Test as they know that they have India rattled with Bazball and will need another super show like Hyderabad to challenge the hosts.
