Explained | Why England’ spinner Shoaib Bashir returned home ahead of 1st Test vs India

On Tuesday (Jan 24), England's uncapped spinner Shoaib Bashir was asked to return home, from UAE, following which the 20-year-old willmiss the series opener of the India-England Tests in India. The five-match Test series gets underway on Jan 25 (Thursday) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. However, Bashir failed to make the playing XI, with Ben Stokes-led England announcing their line-up on Wednesday afternoon (Jan 24), after returning to the United Kingdom.

It is to be noted that Bashir was part of the England squad, which was named last year in December, for the India tour and part of their preparations in Abu Dhabi. Nonetheless, he could not fly to India with his teammates and now has been sent back home due to visa issues.

Why has Shoaib Bashir returnedto London?

Bashir's dream of wearing the English Test cap has been delayedfor his Pakistani roots. He is a Muslim of Pakistani heritage, hence, acquiring visa for the India tour became complicated. The travelling British media in India reported that the uncapped Surrey-born spinner was asked to return to London with his passport to get the correct paperwork at the Indian High Commission.

Is this the first time?

One might wonder if this is the first time that a visiting player has had issues in acquiring an India visa ahead of his national side's tour. Well, it is not the first such instance. Ahead of Australia's tour of India in 2023, opener Usman Khawaja had to stay back Down Underfor delay in getting his Indian visa. He had experienced such delays before as well, while touring India in 2013, 2017 and even in 2011 for the now-defunct Champions League T20. Back then, the matter was resolved after intervention from the government authorities, according to ESPNCricinfo.

Notably, the visa process for entry to India asks applicants whether they or their parents are of Pakistani origin. Khawaja, who was born in Pakistani capitalIslamadad, has often faced issues in coming to India. Even during the 2023 ODI World Cup, in India, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) complained of delays in their squad's visas. In addition, the same was the case for Pakistani journalists in what appeared to be another example of the tense diplomatic stand-off between the two countries (which has only increased on both sides due totheir strained political relations since 2008).

CAPTAINS SYMPATHISE WITH BASHIR

Ahead of the first Test in Hyderabad, Indian captain Rohit Sharma sympathised withBashir. In the pre-match presser, he said, on Wednesday, "I feel for him honestly, he's probably coming for the first time with the England set-up. And obviously not easy for anyone, there could be one of our guys coming to England has been denied or not available to get the visa..."

"Unfortunately, I don't sit in the visa office to give you more details. But I hope he can make it here quickly and enjoy our country and play some cricket as well," he added.

Meanwhile, England captain Stokes stated, "When I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi, I did say we shouldn't fly until Bash gets his visa but that was a little bit tongue in cheek." Stokes added, "I know it's a way bigger thing, doing that. That was probably just (my) emotions around the whole thing. There was never a chance that we were not going to travel around this but Bash knows he's had our full support."

"I'm pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this. As a leader, as a captain, when one of your team-mates is affected by something like that you do get a bit emotional. I know he's back in London and a lot of people are jumping through hoops to try and get this through quicker. Hopefully, we're going to see him here over the weekend," he further said.

MORE ABOUTBASHIR

Bashir is a right-handed batterand a right-arm off-break bowler. He was born in 2003 in Surrey and represents theSomerset County Cricket Club. He made his first-class debut for Somerset in June 2023, against Essex. He made his T20 Blast debutagainst Hampshire, also during the same month.

The uncapped player's uncle was a wicket-keeper batsman for Guildford City Cricket Club, who encouraged Bashir to become a professional cricketer.Bashir featured for the England Lions cricket team for the first time in Oct 2023.Speaking of his first-class record, he has 10 wickets in six games with a best haul of 6 for 55.

Rob Key -- England men's managing director -- heaped praise on Bashir while speaking to Sky Sports last year. "We saw him last summer and you catch a glimpse of a few balls where you think there is something different there," Key said speaking to Sky Sports.

"Bashir is very raw and he's going for experience as much as anything else. We won't be afraid to play him. Hopefully we'll see a world-class spinner in the future."

ENGLAND NAME BASHIR-LESS PLAYING XI FOR 1st TEST

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach.

With no Bashir, England have went ahead with three spinners for the Hyderabad Test. Given he was named in the initial squad, there were high chances of his inclusion for the series opener. He will hope to make it to the English squad for the second Test, which starts on Feb 2 in Visakhapatnam.