INDvsENG: England spinner Rehan stopped at Hirasar airport over visa issue

NEW DELHI: England encountered another visa complications during their India tour when the leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed was stopped from exiting Hirasar Airport in Rajkot due to insufficient paperwork upon English team's arrival from UAE after a mid-series break.

Due to a long break between the second and third Tests, the England team travelled to Abu Dhabi to spend time with their families.

Ahmed was stopped from exiting the Hirasar airport due to lack of multi-entry visa while flying back from the UAE for the second time in the last 30 days, Sportstar reported on Monday.

Having only a single-entry visa to India, the spinner was stopped by airport authorities, causing the England squad to wait at the airport until the necessary formalities were sorted out in the afternoon.

With the help of local authorities, Ahmed was granted a two-day visa at the earliest and the remaining paperwork will be completed well in time before the scheduled start of the match, the report added.

Rehan has featured in first two Test matches in the series so far, taking eight wickets at 36.37 and scoring 70 runs, which included a cameo of 23 at No.3 in the second Test which England lost by 106 runs while chasing a huge target of 399.

The issue arises just weeks after Shoaib Bashir's arrival in India was postponed by a week due to the delayed issuance of his visa, causing him to miss the first Test in Hyderabad.

England won the opening Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs, while India bounced back with a 106-run win at Visakhapatnam. The five-match Test series is currently levelled at 1-1, with the third Test commencing on Thursday in Rajkot.