HYDERABAD, India, Jan 24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - India skipper Rohit Sharma said Wednesday he feels for England's Shoaib Bashir after the uncapped spinner was forced to return home to resolve visa issues ahead of a five-Test series.

Britain-born Bashir, a 20-year-old of Pakistani heritage, was unable to join the rest of the squad flying to India from a training camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the opener in Hyderabad following a delay in his visa application.

"I feel for him honestly," Rohit told reporters in Hyderabad on the eve of the opening match starting Thursday.

"Unfortunately I don't sit in the visa office to give you more details," he added.

"But I hope he can make it here quickly and enjoy our country and play some cricket as well."

The England and Wales Cricket Board had tried to resolve the issue with their Indian counterpart, BCCI, but the decision appeared to be out of their hands.

There was no immediate response from India's foreign ministry.
It was unlikely that Bashir would have made his Test debut on Thursday, but England captain Ben Stokes on Tuesday still described the situation as "frustrating".

England hope the Somerset off-spinner will be able to return to India over the weekend.

India and neighbouring Pakistan are arch-rivals, both on and off the field.

A long-standing diplomatic stand-off between the two nuclear-armed nations has affected sporting ties, with India refusing to tour Pakistan or to play ICC events there.

Other cricketers of Pakistani descent have previously had trouble in gaining entry to India, with batsman Usman Khawaja late in joining Australia's tour of the country last year.

The Pakistan cricket team also faced a delay in obtaining visas ahead of last year's ODI World Cup in India.