Visa points have left batter Usman Khawaja prone to being stranded in Sydney whereas his teammates assemble in India for this month’s blockbuster Take a look at tour.
Australia’s No.1-ranked squad took staggered flights to the subcontinent on Tuesday and Wednesday earlier than the primary Border-Gavaskar Trophy Take a look at, starting in Nagpur on February 9.
Khawaja stays in Sydney however Cricket Australia is hopeful the 36-year-old can be cleared to fly in a foreign country on Thursday.
The stylish left-hander was not resulting from practice with teammates in Bangalore on Thursday, regardless, and the crew’s hierarchy is just not involved the delay will have an effect on his preparation.
Each member of the 18-man squad has been cleared to enter India bar Pakistan-born Khawaja, who additionally confronted visa challenges when he tried to enter the nation in 2011.
On that event, Khawaja took to social media to vent his frustration that he had not been allowed to enter the nation as a result of he was not born in Australia.
On Wednesday, the Queensland captain posted a preferred meme on Instagram together with the hashtags “stranded”, “dontleaveme”, “customary” and “anytimenow”.
A CA official advised AAP the governing physique was conscious of the scenario and was hopeful Khawaja can be permitted for entry into India imminently.
Khawaja is ready to play his first Take a look at match in India this month, however he has been cleared to play within the nation in different codecs on quite a few events.
He toured with the Take a look at crew in 2013, when he was a part of the notorious homework-gate scandal with teammates James Pattinson, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson.
Khawaja additionally represented Rising Pune Supergiant within the IPL in 2016, performed for Australia A on an Indian tour in 2018, and toured once more with the nationwide ODI crew in 2019 when he scored two centuries.
The Australian Cricketers’ Affiliation haven’t been concerned within the course of and declined to remark about Khawaja’s scenario when contacted by AAP.
Khawaja’s Massive Bash League facet Brisbane Warmth is scheduled to play Sydney Sixers in ‘The Challenger’ ultimate on the SCG on Thursday evening.
However a Warmth official advised AAP it was unlikely Khawaja would take part within the match if he was nonetheless in Sydney, with securing a visa to India remaining the participant’s high precedence.
