This is not the first time it has happened. And it will not be the last if the Modi government is in power. Shoaib Bashir, an English cricketer with parentage of Pakistani origins, was unable to secure a visa from the Indian government to participate in the first test at Hyderabad that began/ begins today. Earlier, Australian opener Usman Khawaja, who also has Pakistani origins, had faced the same troubles at the hands of the Indian government. In November two former England players with Pakistani parents were unable to secure visas to play in a veterans’ world series league in India. There were notable difficulties with the visas of the Pakistan cricket team for the cricket world cup last year, despite the International Cricket Council being involved.
The details of the case are simple. Bashir was selected by the England cricket board on December 11, 41 days before scheduled arrival in India. The visa application process started immediately, Bashir’s information was filled in correctly and he attended a meeting at the Indian High Commission. Another was cancelled by officials. The whole England squad left for their training camp at Abu Dhabi in the UAE on January 11 with some players, including Bashir, still waiting on visas (others have long-term entry permission from previous tours or the Indian Premier League). Bashir was assured his would be issued with a visa in Abu Dhabi but it wasn’t: he was told on Tuesday that he would have to fly home to have his visa stamped which he did. Bashir received his India visa yesterday and is expected join England’s Testteam in India over the weekend.
The controversy attracted the attention of the British government, which called on India to “treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process”.
It added, “We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage experience applying for visas with the Indian High Commission in London.” Ben Stokes, England’s captain, revealed that his squad had briefly considered refusing to travel from Abu Dhabi until Bashir’s visa was issued. “When I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi, I did say we shouldn’t fly until Bash gets his visa. But that was a little bit tongue in cheek. I know it’s a way bigger thing than doing that,” Stokes said.
“There was never a [realistic] chance that we were ever not going to travel around this but Bash knows he’s had our full support.”
Stokes is right that no cricket board in the world can afford to offend the BCCI, which drives and sustains the global cricket carnival.
Also read: Sri Lankan Legend Ranatunga Calls Out BCCI Over ‘One Board, One Individual’, and Arbitrary Decisions
It was thus surprising that Stokes even considered the idea of not flying out in solidarity with Bashir but even the England captain would not have been sure about his own cricket board standing behind him. Neither would he have the public backing of the bevy of retired England cricketers looking at jobs as cricket commentators and coaches with the BCCI and the IPL. That’s the reality of modern cricket – it is a glimpse of India as a superpower.
The BCCI is run by Jay Shah, a post he continues in courtesy CJI D.Y. Chandrachud’s judgement overturning a previous one from the Supreme Court, and it acts as an extension of the BJP, not just the Modi government. Any respectable cricket board would have been deeply embarrassed about this incident but not the BCCI, which would be happy to further the ruling regime’s overt anti-Muslim agenda, particularly for people of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Think of the Citizenship Amendment Act. A version of it plays out in the visa rules which are different when it comes to Pakistani citizens or those of Pakistani origin. The rules are slightly different for even Bangladeshi citizens. Indian visa forms now even ask for the applicant’s religion. The details of the visa process for Muslims from these two countries – or Afghanistan – have no meaning because the process is prima facie discriminatory and humiliating.
A cricketing legend like Wasim Akram had to stop working with IPL teams in India because of the humiliating process of police reporting started in the recent years. Is Akram really a security threat to India? Or is Usman Khawaja? Or Shoaib Bashir? Everyone, including those running the BCCI and the Indian government, know that they aren’t.
The simple reason behind this is the Hindutva politics – of discrimination, humiliation and subjugation of religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians from the territories that fall under their conception of Akhand Bharat. This is a sign of grave insecurity and outright bigotry, masquerading as nationalism. And it may be anything, but it is not cricket.
Sushant Singh is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.
This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.
Analysing England Cricketer Shoaib Bashir's Security Threat to India
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26.01.2024
This is not the first time it has happened. And it will not be the last if the Modi government is in power. Shoaib Bashir, an English cricketer with parentage of Pakistani origins, was unable to secure a visa from the Indian government to participate in the first test at Hyderabad that began/ begins today. Earlier, Australian opener Usman Khawaja, who also has Pakistani origins, had faced the same troubles at the hands of the Indian government. In November two former England players with Pakistani parents were unable to secure visas to play in a veterans’ world series league in India. There were notable difficulties with the visas of the Pakistan cricket team for the cricket world cup last year, despite the International Cricket Council being involved.
The details of the case are simple. Bashir was selected by the England cricket board on December 11, 41 days before scheduled arrival in India. The visa application process started immediately, Bashir’s information was filled in correctly and he attended a meeting at the Indian High Commission. Another was cancelled by officials. The whole England squad left for their training camp at Abu Dhabi in the UAE on January 11 with some players, including Bashir, still waiting on visas (others have long-term entry........
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