England T20 World Cup plans disrupted by Rashid and Ahmed visa delays

The situation with people of Pakistani heritage — or those who have recently visited Pakistan — having delays in obtaining visas has worsened because of increased political tensions between India and Pakistan.

Delays like this are not unusual. Shoaib Bashir missed a Test match in India two years ago and had to return home to obtain his visa, while the seam bowler Saqib Mahmood missed a training camp in Abu Dhabi after a delay in receiving the necessary paperwork for a white-ball series before last year’s Champions Trophy.

The ECB is believed to have been given assurances by the Indian government that it has no objection to the players’ visa applications, but no confirmation of the timescales involved in processing them has been received. The ECB is understood to have contacted the UK government, to work with the Indian visa authorities in an attempt to speed up the process.

At present Rashid is in South Africa playing in the SA20 competition, while Ahmed is in Australia taking part in the Big Bash League. For now both will stay where they are, with the intention of either player being able to fly straight to Sri Lanka if the visas arrive in time, or otherwise to India.

England’s T20 squad contains only one other frontline slow bowler in Liam Dawson, with Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks able to offer some part-time spin, but Rashid, in particular, is a central part of England’s T20 team, with 145 international wickets in the format to his name.

The possible disruption to England’s World Cup preparations is far from ideal, with additional scrutiny on their performances over the next few weeks after a woeful Ashes campaign. With a review of the series under way, pressure is mounting on the head coach, Brendon McCullum, and the director of men’s cricket, Rob Key. Should the T20 World Cup campaign end with an early exit, their positions may become untenable.

England are alongside West Indies, Nepal, Italy and Bangladesh in group C, from which they should progress to the Super Eights stage in Sri Lanka in mid-February. A semi-final berth is the minimum that is expected from England.

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