NEW DELHI: An anxious England camp expressed relief after teenage spinner
Rehan Ahmed
's visa issue got sorted out on Wednesday morning.
England skipper
Ben Stokes
, ahead of the third Test, informed that Rehan's visa issue got settled in quick time after the intervention of the Indian government and the
BCCI
.
The 19-year-old Ahmed, a leg-spinner, had issues on returning to India after the team's 10-day break in Abu Dhabi.
Ahmed, the spinner of Pakistani descent, had a single-entry visa upon arrival in Rajkot but he was able to complete his paperwork a day before the start of the third Test against India.
"For any individual having to wait for that is always an anxious period, but thankfully, we got it through this morning, and great job from the guys at the airport for giving him his visa to get through initially, and everyone at the BCCI and the government to get the visa quickly," Stokes said.
"We do not have to worry anymore about those issues, we were very confident that we would get the visa for Rehan before the game started," he added.
Earlier, before the start of the series, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir also faced visa issue and arrived in Hyderabad on the third day of the first Test.
Stokes praised Ahmed for handling the situation well.
"There was no thoughts about not playing him this week, the great thing about youth is that they just take everything in their stride," he said.
"He handled a situation that could've affected quite a lot of people in a different way, very well for such a young kid. Rehan, in the Test matches that he has played, he has done very well and he has solved everything that we have asked him," Stokes added.
England made one change for the match starting in Rajkot on Thursday, with Mark Wood coming in as the second seamer alongside James Anderson.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir made way for Wood after England decided to change their combination of three spinners and one seamer, which they have used so far in the five-match series. The series is currently tied 1-1.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
(With input from PTI)
English (US) ·