The delay makes it difficult for the duo to join the rest of the England squad this weekend for the warm-up games against Sri Lanka.
The visa hurdle started with the USA’s Pakistan-born players — Ali Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Mohammad Mohsin, and Ehsan Adil — who are yet to get clearance for their travel to India for the T20 World Cup.
The ECB has reportedly received assurances that visas for Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed will be issued ahead of the T20 World Cup in India. While the Indian government has confirmed there are no objections to their applications, the ECB has requested assistance from the UK government to expedite the paperwork. Currently, Rashid is playing in South Africa’s SA20 while Rehan is featuring in the Big Bash League in Australia.
Despite the logistical hurdles, the England board remains optimistic that both players will join the squad before England’s opening match of the tournament against Nepal in Mumbai on 8 February.
England also face a secondary challenge regarding their fixture against Bangladesh. The venue remains unconfirmed due to administrative friction between the ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), as the latter has expressed reluctance to travel to India for their scheduled matches.
While the schedule for the tournament has already been announced, the BCB has asked for all of their fixtures to be moved from India to Sri Lanka. Even though the request has already been turned down by the ICC once, the BCB isn’t willing to budge on its stance.