by With a spoiled Shoaib Bashir making the unfortunate flight home and his dreams of a Test premiership in Hyderabad dashed, senior England officials were at an awards ceremony hosted by the Indian board.
Current and former stars of Indian cricket gathered at Hyderabad’s Park Hyatt for the BCCI’s version of the Oscars. Richard Gould, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, along with team director Rob Key, made late pleas for help from Jay Shah, the BCCI president and India’s home minister.
Shah, like many in Bashir’s case, showed sympathy and understanding but could have done a little more because this is government policy. And it’s sensitive too. Rohit Sharma took a long pause before answering a question about Bashir’s case. No one in BCCI circles wants to say the wrong thing in public.
It’s a brick wall that the ECB has faced many times in this situation. They are powerless, and it has been proven once again that the Big Three don’t really exist, it’s the Big One as Australia found out when Usman Khawaja had the same problem last year. The opaqueness of the relationship between the government and the board of India complicates matters, rather than helps.
A week ago when Bashir’s case began to become urgent, Gould had a meeting with British Sports Minister, Stuart Andrew, and the case was on the agenda. Again, there was little actual help that the Minister could offer.
Bashir was selected on December 11, 41 days before his scheduled arrival in India, and the visa application process began immediately. Bashir’s heritage in Pakistan through his parents was a potential red flag. It is understood that a mistake was made at the request of one player, Ollie Robinson, but this was easily rectified. Bashir’s information was filled in correctly and he attended a meeting at the Indian High Commission, another one was canceled by officials.
The entire England squad left for their training camp in the UAE on January 11 with several players, not just Bashir, still awaiting visas (others have long-term entry permits from previous tours or the IPL). Bashir was certain he would be released in Abu Dhabi and England felt he had to travel to the camp to immerse himself in the squad’s culture and get to know his teammates, while still believing he would be cleared in time.
As late as last Friday, and 48 hours before England was due to land in Hyderabad, Indian officials were urging England and Bashir to process him in time. By the end of Saturday it was clear that he would not be able to travel with the rest of the squad to India and he stayed in the UAE with Stuart Hooper, a former rugby union player for Leeds and Bath, who joined the BCE but on January 1 as leader. cricket operations. He has received a baptism of fire.
There was no serious discussion about the rest without travel. England pulling out of a Test match in India would be a nuclear option, with millions of dollars of TV money at stake and relations with the BCCI destroyed over the past generation.
At first, England was reasonably confident that the delay would be temporary but when Bashir made headlines, the situation really took a turn for the worse. The publicity was just what the Indian government wanted. Their firm stance towards Pakistan has now been publicly reiterated, showing that even cricketers are not immune to their discriminatory approach. On Tuesday, the ECB learned that Bashir would have to fly home to get his visa stamped.
It should come as no surprise to the ECB. Saqib Mahmood did not go on the Lions tour to India. “These are difficult and highly political issues,” said Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive at the time. In November two former England players with Pakistani parents were unable to get visas to play in the veterans world league in India.
Now the ECB is likely to research young cricketers of Asian heritage in the county academies to find out any future issues with Indian visas and be better prepared to apply.
The timing is also sensitive as India’s general election is approaching in April-May. The Hindu nationalist ruling party BJP is responsible for the crackdown on visas for people of Pakistani background and will play its key role in canvassing for votes.
Visas are also a sensitive part of the free trade deal negotiations between the Indian and British governments. Trade talks entered their 14th phase on 10 January. Officials from the United Kingdom came to Delhi on Monday to conclude this round of talks.
One of the main sticking points was the issue of UK visas to Indian nationals. Indian companies set up in the UK under the new trade deal want to bring their staff to Britain, but issuing visas will increase migration at a sensitive time for the government. The message is pretty clear, make things easy for us and we can get along.
Bashir found out the hard way that politics affects everything. A few months ago he was bowling for Taunton Deane in the West of England Final. He must be bewildered by events.
England has made a huge impact in the UAE. His height, bounce and swing impressed Key and Brendan McCullum. They believe it will be a threat to turning pitches in India. The fact that they picked the three remaining special spinners in the squad for the first Test shows that he was really in the mix to play and they love nothing more than making a bold call based on gut feeling.
As the England players walked to the nets on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, the squad’s headers were being pinned to the stadium door for the benefit of accredited checkers, one of whom was Bashir’s face. The closest it will get to official recognition is in Hyderabad.
