Ali plays for the USA and was born in Pakistan, which could be the reason behind the hurdle. Ali is one of four players in the American team of Pakistani origin. The status of Shayan Jahangir, Ehsan Adil & Mohammad Mohsin is not yet known.
‘Indian visa denied but KFC for the win,’ wrote Ali on an Instagram story, which was quickly noticed by the cricket fraternity.
What Next?
One would expect that the issue will be sorted in the next few days, and Ali will be able to get a visa to travel to the Indian team Ahead of England’s tour of India in 2024, Shoaib Bashir’s visa was delayed, and he was forced to miss the first Test in India. Ahead of the 2023 World Cup, the visas of the Pakistan team also came later.
For those unversed, the VISA rules for Pakistani nationals were made significantly stricter after the 26/11 Terror attacks in Mumbai, which has led to an increase in processing time.
USA’s Schedule In T20 World Cup
USA are in Group A, which has both India and Pakistan. They will open their campaign on February 7 against the Men in Blue at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium before flying to Sri Lanka to play Pakistan on February 10 at the SSC Stadium in Colombo. Later, they will return to India and play their last two games in Chennai against the Netherlands and Namibia.
Who Is Ali Khan?
Talking about Ali, he is a right-arm pacer and was a key reason behind the USA’s incredible run in the 2024 edition, where they reached the Super Eight after causing arguably cricket’s greatest upset by beating Pakistan in the group stage. Ali has played 18 T20Is for the USA and has 16 wickets.
Ali holds the unique distinction of being the first USA player to get an IPL contract after signing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2020 season as an injury replacement but he did not play a single season. Ali has played for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL, Los Angeles Knight Riders in the MLC, and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20.