England cricket team’s off-field issues have once again taken the spotlight after spin sensation Rehan Ahmed was left stranded at the Rajkot Airport on Monday (Feb 12). Ahmed, who along with the rest of his England squad was in the UAE for warm weather, returned to India with a single entry visa that has reportedly seen him being stranded at the airport. This is not the first time England has seen visa issues take the spotlight with Shoaib Bashir arriving late in India forcing him to miss the opening Test in Hyderabad.

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Rehan Ahmed stranded at airport

According to several media reports, Ahmed, arriving in India for the second time in 30 days was carrying a single entry visa which was not permissible for him during the Test match since the visitors are playing in multiple cities. An absence of a multi-entry visa forced Ahmed to stay at the airport for more than two hours before the issue was resolved.

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“The England team has been advised to process the visa again which will be happening in the next two days,” a BCCI official was quoted saying. “The player was allowed to enter the country with the rest of the team and he will be appearing in practice on Tuesday.”

Ahmed after hours of delay was back in the team camp in the hotel and is ready to play in the third Test starting on Thursday (Feb 15) in Rajkot. However, considering the previous issues, England’s team management did not learn its lessons.

Earlier, Shoaib Bashir was forced to return to the UK after failing to secure his visa for India due to his Pakistani heritage. Like Bashir, Ahmed also has Pakistan heritage but secured his visa to India in October when he was on stand-by for the ODI World Cup.

While issues off the field are concerning England will look to switch their attention to the on-field matter when they play the hosts in the third Test. The series is currently level at 1-1 with England winning the Hyderabad contest before Jasprit Bumrah led India to win the Vizag match.

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