Saqib Mahmood visa delay hits England preparations for India tour

Saqib Mahmood has been forced to miss an England training camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of their white-ball series in India due to a delay in securing his visa. The ECB expects that the issue will be resolved before the rest of the team travel to Kolkata on Friday ahead of Wednesday’s first T20I but the delay is a familiar issue for England players with Pakistani heritage.

Last year, Shoaib Bashir was ruled out of England’s first Test in Hyderabad due to a delay in securing his visa. Six years ago, Mahmood was replaced in an England Lions squad to tour India following hold-ups in the visa process, and eventually opted not to apply for one ahead of Lancashire’s pre-season tour last year, anticipating a similar issue.

The ECB declined to comment but is understood to be optimistic that Mahmood will secure his visa in time to board the team’s flight. The two other players in England’s T20I squad with Pakistani heritage, Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed, are understood to have received their visas already.

Mahmood was due to join Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood at a pace-bowling camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the India tour, which is being overseen by James Anderson in his capacity as a fast-bowling consultant. But he has been required to surrender his passport as part of the visa process, and was therefore unable to travel.

Mahmood, 27, has played 29 games for England across formats but his progress stalled after his Test debut in 2022 due to consecutive lower-back stress fractures. He reminded England’s selectors of his ability with a match-winning spell in the Hundred final in 2024, before he was named player of the series during England’s T20Is in the Caribbean in November.