- Ahmed was detained at the airport because he did not have the proper documentation.
- It had nothing to do with his Pakistani heritage, which had affected Bashir.
- Ahmed only had a single entry visa due to an administrative error by the ECB
England faced further visa problems when they returned to India ahead of Thursday’s third Test when Rehan Ahmed was initially denied entry into the country.
Ahmed was detained at Rajkot’s new Hirasar airport when England were flying back from their Abu Dhabi base, where they spent their mid-series break, because he did not have proper documentation.
But this had nothing to do with Ahmed’s Pakistani heritage, as did the issue that prevented Shoaib Bashir from entering India at the start of the tour.
This was a basic administrative error by the ECB as Ahmed, who was on standby for the England team that visited India late last year, only had a single entry visa so was actually trying to re-enter to the country illegally.
The teenager was eventually granted emergency entry to join his teammates and travel to their hotel here in Gujarat and took part in his 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 meant that Ahmed did, in effect, attempt to re-enter the country illegally.
Shoaib Bashir had a VISA problem at the start of the tour due to his Pakistani heritage.
England are confident that the matter will be resolved within the next 24 hours and that Ahmed will be allowed to take his place in the third Test with the five-match series tied 1-1. But this was a careless mistake on the part of the ECB, which should know, particularly after the Bashir saga that overshadowed the start of the tour, how meticulous India is about visas.
Their visa problems are apparently not limited to their players of Pakistani descent. Ollie Robinson revealed on his ‘Chatting Balls’ podcast that he only received his on the morning England initially flew to Hyderabad for the first Test since their training camp in Abu Dhabi last month.
England tour manager Wayne Bentley told the seamer that he had initially been refused a visa due to a paperwork error and that he, like Bashir, might have to stay in the UAE for a night or two. further.
“He said ‘he’s been denied a visa’ or something like that,” Robinson said. ‘There was an error by the ECB. I think they must have put a wrong initial, or a wrong letter. I do not pass. He told me: “You are not coming to India, you have to stay one more night.” It could be two nights, it could be three. We don’t know how long it will take.” Luckily, I woke up the next morning to a nice message from Wayne saying “the visa is here.”
England attributed the problem to its players being granted electronic business visas, so the problem with single entry did not appear on Ahmed’s passport until it was scanned in Rajkot.
England blamed the problem on its players being granted electronic business visas, so the problem with single entry did not appear on Ahmed’s passport until 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 England spokesperson said: ‘Upon returning to India, we were informed that there was a discrepancy in the paperwork with Rehan Ahmed’s visa.
‘The local authorities at Rajkot airport supported us and allowed Rehan to enter on a temporary visa. The correct visa should be processed and issued in the next few days.
“He will continue to prepare with the rest of the team before the third test.”
Mail Sport understands that both captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum waited with Ahmed at the airport for 20 minutes until the emergency visa was granted while the rest of the England group moved to their hotel.