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Just a couple of weeks after the Shoaib Bashir controversy, another England cricketer, Rehan Ahmed, faced a visa issue as he was stopped at the Hirasar Airport on Tuesday ahead of the third Test against India. Though the issues were sorted, with the player being issued a temporary visa, a lot more needs to be done if Ahmed is to stay with the England squad for the remaining three Tests against India. In the wake of the unexpected development, the England & Wales Cricket Board issued a statement.
“We were advised, on returning to India, that there was paperwork discrepancy with Rehan Ahmed’s visa. The local authorities at Rajkot Airport were supportive, enabling Rehan entry on a temporary visa. The correct visa should be processed and issued in the coming days. He will continue to prepare with the rest of the squad ahead of the third Test,” the ECB said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ongoing five-match Test series is poised at 1-1 after the completion of the first two Tests. The third match of the series will be played at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday.
As per the media reports, England travelled to Abu Dhabi after the end of the second Test at Visakhapatnam as there was a 10-day gap between the second and third match of the series. While returning, Rehan was stopped at the Airport as he only held a single-entry visa.
A BCCI official has asserted that the visitors have been advised to process the player’s visa again in the next two days.
“The England team has been advised to process the visa again which will be happening in the next two days. The player was allowed to enter the country with the rest of the team and he will be appearing in practice on Tuesday,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Rehan has played both matches of the ongoing series, where he has snapped eight wickets at an average of 36.37. Talking about his batting, the right-hand batter has scored 70 runs which includes a cameo of 23 at No.3 in the second Test at Visakhapatnam.
Earlier, before the start of the series, young off-spinner Shoaib Basheer received the visa late because of which he arrived in India a week after the series started and missed the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
Earlier on Monday, the Three Lions seamer Ollie Robinson stated that he received the visa on the morning when the team was leaving for Rajkot from Abu Dhabi.
With ANI inputs
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