England frustrated after rookie spinner Bashir heads back to UK, Rohit says feel for him

The delay in issuance of an Indian visa to rookie England offspinner Shoaib Bashir snowballed into a major controversy on the eve of a muchhyped IND vs ENG Test series with visiting skipper Ben Stokes calling the turn of events frustrating and a British government spokesperson demanding fair treatment for the youngsterThe 20yearold who plays for Somerset in the English county was forced to head back to England from the teams Abu Dhabi training base after a prolonged wait to secure an Indian visa His family is of Pakistani heritageBashir who is a shock inclusion in the squad with a mediocre 10 wickets from just six firstclass games was never in contention for a place in the squad for the opening Test starting on ThursdayWhen I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi I did say we shouldnt fly until Bash gets his visa Stokes said in the prematch press conferenceBut that was a little bit tongue in cheek I know its a way bigger thing than doing that That was probably just emotions around the whole thing Im pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this he addedAn unnamed British government spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that it isnt the first time that citizens of Pakistani heritage have faced a delay in securing Indian visasThe specifics of this case are a matter for Shoaib Bashir and the Indian Government But we absolutely expect India to treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage experience applying for visas with the Indian High Commission in London he saidIndia have so far not commented on the matterAlso ReadWill lsquoBazballrsquo unleash its artistry in IndiaBashir is back in London and Stokes hoped that he would be able to join the squad by the end of this weekhopefully were going to see him back in India over the weekend The feelings we have towards it the visa episode hasnt changed Its obviously a frustrating situation Stokes saidAs a leader as a captain when one of your teammates is affected by something like that you get a bit emotional I know hes back in London and a lot of people are jumping through hoops to try and get this through quickerBash knows hes had our full supportYou know we had announced our squad midDecember Now its January 24 and we still dont have a reason for Shoaibs absence herehopefully we can get over and he can also just concentrate on the rest of his tour he addedAhead of the IND vs ENG Test series India captain Rohit Sharma also offered his view on the matter in his prematch press conference here and hoped that Bashir would be seen in action soonI feel for him He is coming I think for the first time Unfortunately I dont sit in visa office to make the decision Hopefully he will make it here soon Rohit saidAustralian opener Usman Khawaja who is of Pakistani origin as well faced a similar situation when he arrived late for the Test series in India last yearPlayers of Pakistani heritage who have a Pakistani visa have to apply at the Indian High Commission of their respective countries to be able to travel to IndiaWhile Bashir is expected to get the stamp of approval from Indian High Commission in London the turn of events left Stokes a tad irkedHes not the first cricketer to go through this I have played with a lot of people who have had the same issues Stokes saidAnother player of Pakistani origin Saqib Mahmood couldnt travel to India in 2019 for an A series England and Wales Cricket Boards MD Operations Stuart Hooper was in the UAE to speed up the procedure for Bashir but it didnt get the desired resultI find it frustrating that we have picked a player and hes not with us because of visa issues Its a frustrating situation to be in but a lot of people have been trying to get it through Stokes reiteratedWith agency inputs