- Ahmed was stopped at the airport because he did not have the correct paperwork
- It had nothing to do with his Pakistani heritage, which had affected Bashir
- Ahmed only had one visa for one entry due to an administrative error by the ECB
England encountered more visa problems as they returned to India ahead of Thursday’s third Test, when Rehan Ahmed was initially denied entry into the country.
Ahmed was stopped at Rajkot’s new Hirasar airport as England flew back from their base in Abu Dhabi, where they spent their mid-series break, because he did not have the correct paperwork.
But this had nothing to do with Ahmed’s Pakistani origins, like the issue that stopped Shoaib Bashir from entering India at the start of the tour.
This was a fundamental administrative error by the ECB as Ahmed, who was on standby for the England World Cup squad that visited India late last year, only had a single-entry visa and so was in effect trying to enter the country illegally.
The teenage leg-spinner was eventually granted emergency access to rejoin his teammates and travel to their hotel here in Gujarat and take part in their first training session in Rajkot today.
Rehan Ahmed was initially denied entry to India ahead of Wednesday’s third Test
An administrative error by the EBC resulted in Ahmed actually attempting to enter the country illegally
Shoaib Bashir had a VISA problem at the beginning of the tour due to his Pakistani origin
England are confident the matter will be resolved within the next 24 hours and Ahmed will be allowed to take his place in the third Test with the five-match level at 1-1. But this was a careless mistake by the ECB, which should know, especially after the Bashir saga that cast a cloud over the start of the tour, how strict India is on visa matters.
Their visa issues apparently don’t stop with their Pakistani-origin players. Ollie Robinson revealed on his ‘Chatting Balls’ podcast that he only received his on the morning England flew to Hyderabad for the first Test from their training camp in Abu Dhabi last month.
England tour manager Wayne Bentley told the sailor that he had initially been denied a visa due to a paperwork error and that, like Bashir, he might have to stay in the UAE for another night or two.
“He said, ‘your visa has been denied’ or something like that,” Robinson said. ‘There was an error by the ECB. I think they got an initial wrong, or one letter wrong. It didn’t go away. He said, ‘You are not coming to India, you have to stay another night. It could be two nights, it could be three. We don’t know how long it will last.’ Luckily, I woke up the next morning to a nice message from Wayne saying, “Visa is here.”
England blamed the problem on their players being issued electronic business visas, so the one-time entry problem only appeared on Ahmed’s passport when it was scanned in Rajkot.
England blamed the problem on their players being issued electronic business visas, so the one-time entry problem only appeared on Ahmed’s passport when it was scanned in Rajkot.
Ollie Robinson revealed on his podcast that he only received his visa on the morning England initially flew to Hyderabad for the first Test from their training camp in Abu Dhabi last month.
An English spokesperson said: ‘When we returned to India we were told there was a paperwork discrepancy with Rehan Ahmed’s visa.
“The local authorities at Rajkot Airport were helpful, allowing Rehan to enter on a temporary visa. The correct visa should be processed and issued in the coming days.
“He will continue to prepare for the third test together with the rest of the squad.”
Mail Sport understands that both captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum waited 20 minutes with Ahmed at the airport for the emergency visa to be granted, while the rest of the England party continued to their hotel.