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Shoaib Bashir to miss first test for England v India as visa row drags on

goose

By goose
in Cricket Talk

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Vickydev Veteran

Vickydev

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, Iconoclast said:

England should pull an India.

 

Leave the country without playing the last test :phehe:

Yes and probably do better and not turn up at least a couple of days for the rest of the tests in solidarity for their player, will save everyone's time.

 

We can them move on to more serious stuff then whopping their collective arse on the field

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IndianRenegade Grand Master

IndianRenegade

Posted
Posted (edited)

This incident is nothing but a chance for the Gora media to cry against evil India & BCCI.

 

The English refused visa to the entire Pak blind cricket team who were invited by the English. Where was the outrage then?

 

@plalor, an aussie, is hinting at the same xenophobia/racism angle bringing up Usman Khawaja & comparing it to this. But go find a tweet by him when aussie spin coach of Indian origin  was refused a pakistani visa? crickets.

 

then there is Kit Harris claiming racial motivation.

 

Firstly, Pakistani's aren't a race.

Secondly, UK makes all of south asia go through a visa process with intrusive questions delaying travel, while letting visitors from predominantly white countries in visa free. isn't that racism by his own logic?

 

As an expat in US, I am aware of how US has taken the dignity to travel freely from Indian immigrants. Endless visa renewals with non-available visa slots, buggy appointment website, ever increasing fees with no corresponding increase in service, causing folks to even miss the death of loved ones.... but this entire gora infrastructure will be ready to gang up on India now.

Edited by IndianRenegade
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goose Experienced

goose

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Blood pressure warning - Telegraph UK:

 

ECB fears Shoaib Bashir will not be last England player to face India’s unfair visa system

The ECB will conduct more research into young cricketers of Asian heritage in order to mitigate issues with India visas in the future

As a devastated Shoaib Bashir was making a forlorn flight home with his dreams of a Test debut in Hyderabad ruined, senior England officials were at a swanky awards ceremony thrown by the Indian board.

Current and former stars of Indian cricket gathered at Hyderabad’s Park Hyatt for the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s version of the Oscars. There Richard Gould, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s chief executive, accompanied by team director Rob Key, made late pleas for help from Jay Shah, the president of the BCCI and son of the Indian home minister.

Shah, like so many in the Bashir case, expressed sympathy and understanding but could do little more because this is government policy. And it is sensitive, too. Rohit Sharma, the India captain, took a long pause before answering a question about the Bashir case. Nobody in BCCI circles wants to say the wrong thing in public.

It is a brick wall the ECB has bashed against many times in this case. It is powerless, and it has been proved again that the Big Three does not really exist, it is the Big One as Australia found out when Usman Khawaja had the same problem last year. The opaqueness of the relationship between the government and Indian board complicates matters, rather than helps.

 

A week ago, when the Bashir situation started to become urgent, Gould had a meeting with Stuart Andrew, the British sports minister, and the case was on the agenda. Again, there was little actual help the minister could offer.

Bashir was selected on Dec 11, 41 days before scheduled arrival in India, and the visa application process started immediately. Bashir’s Pakistan heritage through his parents was a potential red flag. It is understood there was a mistake on one player’s application, Ollie Robinson, but this was rectified without a hitch. Bashir’s information was filled in correctly and he attended a meeting at the Indian High Commission. Another was cancelled by officials.

The whole England squad left for their training camp in the United Arab Emirates on Jan 11 with some players, not just Bashir, still waiting on visas (others have long-term entry permission from previous tours or the Indian Premier League). Bashir was assured his would be issued in Abu Dhabi and England felt he had to travel to the camp to become immersed in the squad culture and get to know his team-mates, still believing he would be cleared in time.

As late as last Friday, and 48 hours before England were to touch down in Hyderabad, Indian officials were reassuring England and Bashir it would be processed in time. By late Saturday it became clear he would be unable to travel with the rest of the squad to India and he remained in the UAE with Stuart Hooper, the former rugby union player for Leeds and Bath, who joined the ECB only on Jan 1 as head of cricket operations. He has had a baptism of fire.

There was no serious discussion of the rest not travelling. England pulling out of a Test match in India would be a nuclear option, with millions of dollars of television money at stake and relations with the BCCI ruined for a generation.

At first, England were reasonably confident the delay would be only temporary but once Bashir made headlines, the situation actually worsened. The publicity was just what the Indian government wanted. Their hardline stance on Pakistan was now reaffirmed in public, showing that even cricketers are not immune to their discriminatory approach. On Tuesday the ECB learnt Bashir would have to fly home to have his visa stamped.

It should have been no surprise to the ECB. Saqib Mahmood did not go on a Lions tour to India. “These are difficult issues and very political,” Tom Harrison, then ECB chief executive, said. In November two former England players with Pakistani parents were unable to secure visas to play in a veterans’ world series league in India.

Now the ECB is likely to conduct research on young cricketers of Asian heritage in the county academies to pick up any potential issues with India visas in the future and be better prepared to apply.

The timing is sensitive, too, with the India general election looming in April-May. The Hindu nationalist ruling party BJP is responsible for the visa crackdown on people with Pakistani backgrounds and will play its headline stance in canvassing votes.

Visas are also a sensitive part of negotiations between the Indian and British governments over a free trade deal. Trade talks entered a 14th phase on Jan 10. Officials from the United Kingdom arrived in Delhi on Monday to conclude this round of talks.

One of the main sticking points has been the issuing of UK visas for Indian nationals. Indian companies that set up in the UK under the new trade agreement want the freedom to bring staff with them to Britain but issuing more visas will increase migration numbers at a sensitive time for the Government. The message is pretty clear: make things easy for us and we will reciprocate.

Bashir has found out the hard way that politics influences everything. Just a few months ago he was bowling for Taunton Deane in the West of England Premier League. He must be bewildered by events.

He had made a big impression on England in the UAE. His height, bounce and turn impressed Key and Brendon McCullum, the Test head coach. They believe he will be a threat on turning pitches in India. The fact they have picked all three remaining specialist spinners in the squad for the first Test shows he was seriously in the mix to play and they love nothing more than making a bold call based on a gut feeling.

As the England players walked to the nets on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, head shots of the squad were being pinned to the door of the stadium for the benefit of accreditation checkers. Bashir’s face was one of them. It is the closest he will come to official recognition in Hyderabad.

 

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putrevus Grand Master

putrevus

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, goose said:

England obviously picked Bashir and took him to UAE knowing Shah would turn down visa meaning Eng could claim the moral test series win (stolen from the internet)

Who cares what they think. It is high time that India needs to do what is right for India and stop worrying about others.

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Sandz Mentor

Sandz

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, putrevus said:

Why, ? India pulled out if 5th test at height of Covid fatigue. Which was understandable.

India pulled out so that they can safely play IPL , you are naive to think if there was any other reason.

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rkt.india Grand Master

rkt.india

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

This is highly unprofessional.

Unprofessional from England as they sent him to UAE without getting visa stamp from high commission in England. They could not have gotten visa sitting in UAE.

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Sandz Mentor

Sandz

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, rkt.india said:

India pulled out because they didn't have a proper XI to field.

That is not correct , none of the players were infected, they were too scared of catching Covid and miss the IPL hence ran off with their toys. Rohit and Kohli lost a lot of credibility post that stunt.

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