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'I Don't Sit In Visa Office' - Rohit Sharma's Hilarious Take On Shoaib Bashir Controversy

image-lrrj2i4lRohit Sharma in press conference (AP)

Ahead of the highly-anticipated five-game Test series against England, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma addressed a press conference and discussed Shoaib Bashir’s visa issues that saw the latter return home just hours ahead of the series opener.

Shoaib Bashir, a 20-year-old English cricketer of Pakistani heritage, earned his maiden test call-up for the upcoming five-game test series against India. He impressed the ECB leadership with successful stints with Somerset Cricket County Club and the England Lions preparatory camp. 

However, Bashir couldn’t make it to India in time for the first Test in Hyderabad due to delayed visa issues. Apparently, Bashir’s visa process took longer than previously expected. Thus, the ECB asked the BCCI to intervene to ensure that Bashir gets to join the squad in time for the Hyderabad Test.

However, in an unfortunate twist in the tale, Shoaib Bashir was asked to return to the United Kingdom to sort out the visa concerns personally with the Indian High Commission in London.

Subsequently, Shoaib Bashir was ruled out of the first Test, which drew strong reactions from the local media back in the UK. England captain Ben Stokes also expressed his frustration.

Having said that, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was quizzed about the same during a recent press conference, and Sharma acknowledged the situation as unfortunate.

He added that since he is young and probably visiting India for the first time, visa concerns popped up. However, Rohit refused to weigh more thoughts. He said he isn’t sitting in the visa office looking after applications. So, he is in no position to speak further on the matter.

However, Rohit Sharma did hope that Bashir would sort out his visa concerns soon and get to enjoy quality time in this beautiful country.

Having said that, Shoaib Bashir is expected to join the English squad over the weekend once his visa gets approved, and he will probably be available for selection for the Visakhapatnam Test.