England spinner Shoaib Bashir breaks silence on Indian visa hassle

England spinner Shoaib Bashir had a minor inconvenience due to the visa delay for India tour. However, that phase is now a distant dream for Bashir as he is elated to have claimed Indian captain Rohit Sharma as his first Test wicket.

Bashir, who hails from a Pakistani background, was unable to accompany the England squad from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad for the series opener due to the delay in obtaining his visa. However, he joined the team midway through the Hyderabad Test and witnessed a brilliant come from behind victory. The towering off-spinner justified captain Ben Stokes’ decision to return with a decent figure of two wickets for 100 runs in 28 overs in the second Test.

“It has been a very special, special day. For all that I have been through in the last two to three years, it made it even more special. To get Rohit Sharma out, my first wicket, feels incredible. He is a quality player, one of the best in the world and a great player of spin as well,” said Bashir after the end of the first innings.

Reflecting on the visa issue that he faced, Bashir said, “No doubts at all, I always knew I would get the visa. It was a bit of a hassle but we are here now, I have made my debut, and that is all that matters. I was pretty chilled to be fair. I knew it would get sorted so thanks to ECB and BCCI for sorting out quite quickly.”