NEWS
Follow UsThe England players and coaching staff have arrived in India for the five-match Test series, but Shoaib Bashir has been left stranded in the UAE due to visa issues. The uncapped Somerset offspinner’s parents are of Pakistani heritage.
“Bash will join us hopefully tomorrow, he's got a couple of issues with his visa coming through. "We're confident on the back of the help from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and the Indian government that it will sort itself out pretty quickly as well,” said England Test head coach Brendon McCullum.
England were training in Abu Dhabi before arriving in Hyderabad for the first Test, which will get underway from Thursday (January 25). McCullum is hopeful that the 20-year-old will be available for the first Test.
“Things take time, don't they? Everyone is doing what they can. It's a process we need to go through and we're pretty confident that we're close,” said McCullum.
“We've also got a little bit of support out there for him so he's not on his own. We're hoping the news will come through today that his visa has been approved, then we'll get him to sink his teeth into this series."
Talking about Harry Brook, who pulled out of the India tour due to personal reasons, McCullum said: “Obviously our thoughts are with Harry and his family, it's a tough time.
“It's a privileged position to play cricket for a living but some things are more important than that. There's a chance he may return later in the tour but for now we just want him to be with his family and do his thing. We'll just keep talking.
"When he says he might be ready, when that conversation starts to happen, cool. If that doesn't happen then that's okay as well."
