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 in Rajkot. 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. The 19-year-old prodigy had to wait at the airport for a couple of hours.
"The local authorities at Rajkot Airport were supportive" - ECB Spokesperson
A spokesperson of the England Cricket Board (ECB) revealed that Rehan's correct visa should be processed and issued in the following days. As quoted by Sky Sports, the spokesperson stated:
"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.
A BCCI official has asserted that the visitors have been advised to process the player's visa again in the next two days. The authorities found a short-term solution, granting Rehan a two-day emergency visa.
"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 Ahmed has had a decent outing with the ball in the series:
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.
