The 24-year-old Karachi-born cricketer Fahad Babar was forced to return home when he was participating in 2016-17 West Indies Regional Super50 List A Tournament in Barbados for ICC Americas following the country’s immigration ban policy.
Fahad’s immigration lawyer, William McClean asked him to return home as the banned list could include Pakistan, where Fahad was born.
“He’s (Fahad) from Pakistan which is close to those other countries and might be next on the chopping block,” McClean was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
The immigration ban came into effect from January 27 as Fahad feared of being banned from the country as he is not the US citizen.
“That 120-day rule, that should not apply to Fahad because he’s not a refugee and he’s not from any of those countries that are affected by the ban. But he’s not a citizen,” McClean revealed
Fahad did not want to face immigration problems following the US President Donald Trump’s immigration rules.
“If he’s out of the US when they say, ‘okay we’re extending the ban to Pakistani people’, Fahad will be barred. He will not be allowed to come back into the United States even if he’s travelling for cricket and that’s what we’re scared of,” McClean added.
According to the reports, Fahad had been in the country when he was just 14. He had also represented the US under a seven-year policy of ICC.
However, Fahad was the only player among six others to face the axe if Pakistan would be added to the immigration ban list. The other four cricketers are from USA and Canada.
“The only thing that happened to him, in my opinion, that shouldn’t have happened when he came back to the United States is that they put him in secondary inspection,” McClean remarked.
Fahad had played two matches in West Indies against Guyana and Jamaica before leaving the tour mid-way after scoring just 29.
The Regional Super50 in West Indies is also seen as a platform for the young players to get a call for Caribbean Premier League.
Earlier, the Trump-led government expanded the ban to seven countries which include Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan.
“A lot of people have to go through that but there was no reason for him to have to go through secondary inspection and they made him go do that anyway. Secondary inspection is a room with no windows and a locked door.”
In 2011, Fahad represented USA Under-19 team before making his way into the senior team in 2013.
Fahad, who performed consistently in the domestic cricket, was also announced valuable player during 2015 ICC Americas Twenty20 Tournament for Division One.