England fast bowler Saqib Mahmood has finally secured a visa ahead of India’s white-ball tour. Mahmood recently encountered a delay in the process of obtaining a visa, due to which he also missed the training camp in the UAE.
However, they will now travel with the English team to Kolkata for the first T20I of the series. The opening match of the T20I series will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on January 22. England will play a five-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series before heading to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
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Saqib Mahmood finally gets a visa
Saqib Mahmood is of Pakistani origin, which is the main reason for the delay in the visa process. The situation has already happened with various cricketers of Pakistani origin such as Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed.
But Rashid and Rehan have already received their visas. Both these players, who are part of the England squad for the T20I series, also share the same background. Mahmood was the only remaining player to get a visa.
Saqib Mahmood also faced similar problems in 2019 and was later replaced from the Ethe ngland Lions tour of India after a lengthy visa process. He also missed Lancashire’s pre-season tour of India after predicting a similar problem.
Saqib Mahmood misses England camp
Before the tour of India, Mahmood was scheduled to attend a fast bowling camp in Abu Dhabi to acclimatize to Indian conditions. The camp was led by former England fast international James Anderson, who is also the team’s fast bowling adviser.
England’s best fast bowlers such as Jofro Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood took part in the camp. However, Mahmood could not travel with the team as his passport was still in the Indian embassy at the time.
Saqib Mahmood recently overcame back-to-back stress fractures in his lower back to mark his international comeback in 2024. He played in the T20I series against West Indies last year and finished with 9 wickets in just 4 matches at an excellent average of 10.55 and an economy rate of 6 ,33.
The 27-year-old right-arm fast bowler has played 2 Tests, 9 ODIs and 18 T20Is. He has also been named in the England squad for Champions Trophy 2025. He has a good ODI record with 14 wickets in 9 ODIs at an average of 26.85.
The same problem that Shoaib Bashir is facing
Offspinner Shoaib Bashir was recently the cricketer who faced this problem and missed the opening Test of England tour of India in early 2024 played in Hyderabad. However, England managed to win the match thanks to a brilliant display of spin-bowling by Tom Hartley.
Bashir returned in time for the second Test of the series and played in three Tests. But India came back strongly to win the series 4-1. Bashir made his debut in the series and finished with 17 wickets in three Tests.
