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Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium: England captain Ben Stokes said he was pretty devastated over the visa issues preventing uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir from traveling to India for the Test series starting on Thursday, and revealed suggested the squad should not fly without him, though it was never a serious thought in the first place.

Bashir, 20, is of Pakistani heritage, and was the only member of the touring team to not receive his visa in time for the series. As a result, he was stuck in Abu Dhabi, the venue for the visitors’ pre-series camp, while the rest of the England team travelled to Hyderabad for the Test series opener starting on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

With Bashir, born in the United Kingdom, now flying back to England from Abu Dhabi to appear in the Indian high commission office in London in person for his visa application paperwork, it means that he is effectively unavailable for selection in the first Test.