Rehan Ahmed and Adil Rashid issued visas to travel to India for T20 World Cup

Visas for England's Rehan Ahmed and Adil Rashid to travel to India for the T20 World Cup have been issued, with the ICC confident that Indian visas for all players, support staff and officials of Pakistani origin or nationals at the event will be arranged in time. It had emerged late last week that Rehan and Rashid, with Pakistan ties, had been waiting for clearances even as the rest of their team-mates in the England squad had received theirs.

A number of players of Pakistan origin from England and Australia have faced delays in securing visas to travel to India in recent years. An Instagram post by the USA's Ali Khan last week, claiming he had been denied an Indian visa, brought the issue to light once again. Political and diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan, always fraught, are at their lowest ebb currently and obtaining Indian visas for Pakistani nationals or those of Pakistan heritage has been especially difficult in recent years. Even the Pakistan's men's team faced a brief delay before traveling to India for the 2023 World Cup.

In all, there are 42 such applications from the squads of Canada, Netherlands, UAE, England, Italy, Bangladesh (where the former Pakistan legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed is part of the coaching staff) and the USA. Visas, it is believed, have already been issued to players and officials from the Netherlands and Canada, while visa appointments for members of the UAE, USA, Italy, Bangladesh and Canada squads are due to take place early next week

The ICC has taken on a more proactive role in facilitating applications and is understood to be in touch with Indian High Commissions and Consulates in various cities across the world to ensure the remaining visas are processed without issue. The global governing body is confident that all visas will be issued by January 31, when the support period for the tournament begins. The first games of the tournament are scheduled for February 7.