Saqib Mahmood has received his visa finally, and that will allow him to travel with the team to Kolkata on Friday for the first T20I of the series that is scheduled on Wednesday.
Mahmood, a Pakistani national, had faced a delay in receiving the travel document that meant he could not attend an England training camp in the UAE.
Two other members of the T20I squad, like him, are of similar background - Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed, who received their visas earlier.
The Lancashire seamer had encountered similar issues in the past when, in 2019, he was replaced for an England Lions tour of India following a drawn-out visa process. In 2024, he sat out Lancashire's pre-season tour having anticipated the same problem, months after England offspinner Shoaib Bashir missed the first Test against India in Hyderabad due to the slow processing of his visa.
Mahmood had been scheduled to attend a pace-bowling camp in Abu Dhabi prior to the India tour, led by fast bowling consultant James Anderson, featuring Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Mark Wood, among others.
Those plans went out of the window due to the fact the Indian Embassy still had possession of his passport; Mahmood having originally intended to travel to the UAE with the group last Thursday.
The 27-year-old has been on something of a comeback trail, overcoming consecutive lower-back stress fractures to return to the international fold last year, and was named player of the series during England's T20I series in the Caribbean in November, taking nine wickets at 10.55.
With 29 appearances in all formats, including two Test caps against West Indies in 2022, Mahmood will be keen to impress head coach Brendon McCullum who is now in charge of England's red- and white-ball sides.
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