England cricketer Shoaib Bashir, who was unable to obtain a visa to get into India ahead of the Test series, has flown home to resolve the issue.
Bashir, a 20-year-old British Muslim of Pakistani heritage, was the only member of England's touring party to experience a significant delay over his visa application and remained grounded following a training camp in Abu Dhabi while his teammates transferred to Hyderabad, where the first Test starts on Thursday.
The England and Wales Cricket Board had hoped the matter could be resolved in the United Arab Emirates — where its managing director of operations, Stuart Hooper, remained with Bashir — but a solution has not been found.
