Last year, Shoaib Bashir was ruled out of England’s first Test in Hyderabad due to delays in obtaining a visa. Six years ago, Mahmood was swapped out of the England Lions squad to tour India after delays in his visa process and ultimately decided not to apply ahead of Lancashire’s pre-season tour last year in anticipation of similar problems.
The ECB declined to comment but is said to be optimistic Mahmoud will secure a visa in time to board the team flight. The other two players in the England T20I team, Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed, who are from Pakistan, are said to have already received visas.
Mahmood was due to join Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood at the pace bowling camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the India tour, overseen by fast bowling consultant James Anderson. However, he was unable to travel because he had to surrender his passport as part of the visa process.
Mahmood, 27, has played 29 times for England across different formats, but a series of back stress fractures have stalled his progress since his Test debut in 2022. He reminded England selectors of his abilities with a match-winner in the 2024 Hundreds final before being named player of the series in England’s T20I in the Caribbean in November.
