Hyderabad: England Test Captain Ben Stokes expressed frustration over off-spinner Shoaib Bashir's visa delay for England's tour of India as he ruled the rookie out of the first Test here on Wednesday.
"We announced that squad in mid-December, and now Bash finds himself without a visa to get here. I am more frustrated for him. I didn't want this type of situation to be his first experience of what it's like to be in the England Test team. I feel for him," Stokes told an esteemed cricket portal.
"But he's not the first cricketer to go through this, I have played with a lot of people who have had the same issues. I find it frustrating that we have picked a player and he's not with us because of visa issues.
"Especially for a young lad, I'm devastated for him. It's a frustrating situation to be in, but a lot of people have been trying to get it through. It's unfortunate and I'm very frustrated for him," he said.
Bashir was training in Abu Dhabi but could not travel alongside his teammates for some reason. The delay in visa processing forced him to return to England in the hope of expediting the application process.
Bashir is facing a visa clearance issue due to his roots in Pakistan, though he has a UK passport.