Captain Ben Stokes ‘devastated’ for the Somerset off-spinnerBashir’s absence means Tom Hartley could make debut
Shoaib Bashir has flown back to the UK and been ruled out of Thursday’s first Test against India in Hyderabad after a visa delay that prevented England’s rookie spinner from travelling to the country with his new teammates.
Just 20 years old and on his first senior England tour, Surrey-born Bashir has become the latest cricketer of Pakistani heritage to be hit with a visa delay en route to India. Moeen Ali and Saqib Mahmood have had similar experiences in the past, as did Australia’s Usman Khawaja before his side’s Test tour last year.