England faced a visa issue for the second time on their ongoing tour of India as their leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed was detained at the Rajkot airport upon the English team’s arrival from Abu Dhabi.
With a gap of more than a week between the second and third Test, England decided to leave India for Abu Dhabi for a break. And their return to India was not really pleasant as they had to deal with another visa issue. Rehan Ahmed was not allowed to leave the airport for a couple of hours before the issue was eventually sorted. The officials managed to find a short-term solution, granting the England youngster a two-day emergency visa.
While the correct visa has not been issued yet, the England camp is confident that the matter will be sorted within the next 24 hours. As per reports, the process for the issuance of the correct visa was signed off at the airport. Rehan Ahmed, who is of Pakistan origin, was not allowed to leave the airport because he only had a single-entry visa.
ECB praises supportive officials as Rehan Ahmed gets temporary visa:
While Rehan Ahmed had to wait for a couple of hours at the airport, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was all praise for the way the airport officials handled the issue. The officials gave the spinner a temporary visa that allowed him to leave the airport and link up with the rest of the team.
“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,” the ECB said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
Earlier on the tour, spinner Shoaib Bashir missed the first Test due to the visa issue. After he was barred from entering India, he had to return to the UK from Abu Dhabi to get his visa stamped before being allowed in the country.