New Delhi, August 10: Usman Khawaja, the Australian batsman, has been granted an India visa, allowing him to play for New South Wales if selected for next month's Champion's League Twenty20 in India.
Khawaja's visa was initially denied by the Indian High Commission in Australia, prompting the Pakistan-born batsman to express exasperation on Twitter, where he said India's visa department “need to sort their issues out”.
“Refusing to let me travel to India as an Australian, because I wasn't born here. Wow,” he wrote.
However the matter was resolved within a day, and Khawaja is now free to visit India for the tournament. Dr Harry Harinath, the chairman of Cricket NSW, thanked the Indian High Commission for its prompt response to the matter.
“We are delighted that this has been settled and we thank the Indian Consul-General, Mr Amit Dasgupta for his prompt attention in resolving the matter,” Harinath said.
Khawaja is among the 20 NSW probables, of which 15 will form the Champions League squad. Khawaja, who was born in Pakistan, became the first Muslim to play for Australia when he was picked for the final Ashes Test in Sydney in 2010-11.
The tournament begins on September 23 with NSW scheduled to play their first match on September 24 in Chennai. The Blues squad is expected to be named later this week.
