IND vs ENG: England spinner Rehan Ahmed STOPPED at Rajkot Airport: After Shoaib Bashir’s Visa issue, which took a while to get resolved, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was again caught off-guard by the Indian Immigration Officials who stopped spinner Rehan Ahmed with an invalid Visa. The incident took place at the Rajkot Airport where Rehan Ahmed arrived with a single entry visa.
It is noteworthy that England’s India-bound contingent landed in Rajkot after enjoying their 10-day break in Abu Dhabi between the second and third India vs England test matches.
After the completion of the second test in Vishakhapatnam, England boarded a plane to Abu Dhabi to enjoy a short break, before they arrived back in India for the 3rd IND vs ENG test, which will be held in Rajkot’s Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
While all the other members of the England contingent had valid visas, Rehan Ahmed possessed an incorrect visa. A person with a single-entry visa is not allowed to exit and re-enter the country.
A BCCI official confirmed that, though all the players have been allowed to enter the country, the team will have to process the visa formalities again.
“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 said.
Interestingly, this is the first instance when an international flight has been directly landed at Rajkot Airport. The 31-men English contingent boarded a charter plane to land directly at the Rajkot Airport, for which a temporary immigration centre was also opened.
Rehan Ahmed has been decent so far in the two India vs England test outings. The young spinner scalped two wickets in the first test in Hyderabad while he returned with six wickets to his name in the second test which was held in Vishakhapatnam.
India and England will engage in the third of the five-match test series starting on February 15. The fixture will be held at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
With the five-match series levelled at 1-1, both sides will eye getting an upper hand as soon as possible. England got better of India in the Hyderabad Test, and the Indians returned with favour with a big win in the second test in Vishakhapatnam.
It now remains to be seen how the two sides perform in the third test, which may set the tone for the last two games as well.