As a devastated Shoaib Bashir made a desperate flight home with his dreams of a Test debut in Hyderabad ruined, senior England officials were at a swanky awards ceremony hosted by the Indian board.
Current and former stars of Indian cricket gathered at Hyderabad’s Park Hyatt for the BCCI version of the Oscars. There, Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England & Wales Cricket Board, accompanied by team director Rob Key, made belated pleas for help from Jay Shah, the BCCI president and son of India’s home secretary.
Shah, like many in the Bashir case, showed his compassion and understanding, but could do little more because this is government policy. And it is also sensitive. Rohit Sharma took a long pause before answering a question on the Bashir case. No one in BCCI circles wants to say anything wrong in public.
It is a brick wall that the ECB has hit many times in this case. They are powerless, and it has been proven once again that the Big Three don’t really exist, it is the Big One, as Australia discovered when Usman Khawaja faced the same problem last year. The opaqueness of the relationship between the government and the Indian administration complicates matters rather than helping them.
A week ago, as the Bashir situation began to become urgent, Gould met with British Sports Minister Stuart Andrew and the matter was on the agenda. Here too, there was little actual help that the minister could provide.
Bashir was selected on December 11, 41 days before scheduled arrival in India, and the visa application process began immediately. Bashir’s Pakistani heritage through his parents was a potential red flag. It is understood there was an error in the registration of one player, Ollie Robinson, but this was rectified without incident. Bashir’s details were filled in correctly and he attended a meeting at the Indian High Commission, another one canceled by officials.
The entire England squad left for their training camp in the UAE on January 11, with some players, not just Bashir, still awaiting visas (others have long-term entry clearances from previous tours or the IPL). Bashir had been assured he would be released in Abu Dhabi and England felt he should travel to the camp to become immersed in the team culture and get to know his teammates, still confident he would be cleared in time.
As recently as last Friday, and 48 hours before England was due to land in Hyderabad, Indian officials assured England and Bashir that it would be processed on time. It became clear late on Saturday that he would not be able to travel to India with the rest of the squad and he remained in the UAE with Stuart Hooper, the former Leeds and Bath rugby player, who only joined the ECB as chief on January 1. of cricket operations. He’s had a baptism of fire.
There was no serious discussion about the rest of not traveling. England pulling out of a Test match in India would be a nuclear option, with millions of dollars of television money at stake and relations with the BCCI ruined for a generation.
Initially, England were fairly confident that the delay would only be temporary, but once Bashir was in the news the situation actually worsened. The publicity was exactly what the Indian government wanted. Their tough stance on Pakistan has now been publicly confirmed, showing that even cricketers are not immune to their discriminatory approach. On Tuesday, the ECB learned that Bashir would have to fly home to have his visa stamped.
This should not have come as a surprise to the ECB. Saqib Mahmood did not go on Lions tour to India. “These are difficult issues and very political,” said Tom Harrison, the then CEO of the ECB. In November, two former England players with Pakistani parents were unable to obtain visas to play in the veterans’ World Series League in India.
Now the ECB is likely to investigate young cricketers of Asian descent in the provincial academies to identify any issues with visas for India in the future and be better prepared to apply.
The timing is also sensitive with India’s general elections looming in April-May. The Hindu nationalist ruling party BJP is responsible for the crackdown on people with a Pakistani background over visas and will play a prominent role in canvassing votes.
Visas are also a sensitive part of negotiations between the Indian and British governments on a free trade agreement. The trade negotiations entered a 14th phase on January 10. Officials from the United Kingdom arrived in Delhi on Monday to conclude this round of talks.
One of the major sticking points has been the issuance of British visas to Indian nationals. Indian companies setting up in Britain under the new trade deal want the freedom to bring staff to Britain, but issuing more visas will increase migration numbers at a sensitive time for the government. The message is quite clear: make it easy for us and we will answer it.
Bashir has discovered the hard way that politics affects everything. Just a few months ago he was bowling for Taunton Deane in the West of England Premier League. He must be stunned by the events.
He had made a big impression for England in the UAE. His length, bounce and spin impressed Key and Brendon McCullum. They believe he will be a pitch-turning threat in India. The fact that they picked all three of the remaining specialist spinners in the squad for the first Test shows that he was seriously in the mix to play and that they would love nothing more than to make a bold decision based on a gut feeling.
As the England players walked to the nets at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Wednesday, head shots from the team were pressed on the stadium door for accreditation checks. Bashir’s face was one of them. It is the closest thing to official recognition in Hyderabad.