Cricket: Pakistan-origin England spinner Shoaib Bashir denied Indian visa; to miss first Test

Uncapped spinner Shoaib Bashir was effectively ruled out of the first Test of England’s tour of India on Tuesday after he was forced to return home to resolve visa issues.

Surrey-born Bashir, a 20-year-old Muslim of Pakistani heritage, was unable to join the rest of the squad flying to India from a training camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the series opener in Hyderabad starting Thursday following a delay with his visa application.

The England and Wales Cricket Board had hoped they could count on assistance from their counterparts at the Board of Control for Cricket in India in resolving the issue.

But travelling British media in India reported Tuesday that Bashir had been told he needed to return to London with his passport to receive the correct paperwork at the Indian High Commission.

It was unlikely that Bashir would have made his Test debut on Thursday but the frustration for England is that the decision has been taken out of their hands.

England now hope the Somerset off-spinner will return to India over the weekend, but dejected captain Ben Stokes said: “I didn’t want this type of situation to be his first experience of what it’s like to be in the England Test team. Especially for a young lad,...

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