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Veteran spinner Akeal Hosein and rookie batsman Jyd Goolie both look set to miss out on West Indies’ upcoming T20 International series against England and Ireland, due to the Cricket West Indies (CWI) failure to land visas for the cricketers.
West Indies play the first of three T20I matches against England today in Durham while a similar three match series against Ireland starts next Thursday in Bready.
Copyright: ICC/ Getty Images.
The United Kingdom placed visa restrictions on Trinidad and Tobago citizens, effective 23 April, which require players to submit visa applications and attend mandatory in-person appointments.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) would have followed the process to take Evin Lewis to England for the recent One-Day International (ODI) series.
And, last week, the Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Football Team participated in the Unity Cup in England, with a squad that comprised several overseas-based Trinbagonians.
The TTFA secured visas for its entire team, including overseas-based players, to travel to London earlier this month.
(via TTFA Media.)
Still, CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe claimed that Hosein could not complete the registration process until he returned to Trinidad.
In Goolie’s case, West Indies selectors—head coach Daren Sammy and captain Shai Hope—appeared to have not considered UK visa requirements when they selected the batsman, four days ago.
The CWI put the cock-up down to “administrative challenges”.
“As soon as the updated visa requirements were announced, CWI began the necessary application processes,” said Bascombe. “This was only possible after Akeal returned to Trinidad, and following the confirmation of Jyd’s selection to the Ireland squad.
“Akeal, who was selected for both the England and Ireland legs of the tour, was granted permission to fulfill his commitments with the extended Pakistan Super League until mid-May. Jyd was called up for the Ireland series after Roston Chase was named Test captain on 16 May.
“[…] Jyd was unable to secure the required visa waiver, as the transition period for Trinidad and Tobago residents had already expired.”
The fall-out from the administrative mix-up means that new West Indies Test captain Roston Chase could miss part of an eight-day Test series camp (13-21 June) in preparation for the three-Test series against Australia for the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy.
Chase was set to leave England to join the Test camp in Barbados.
Copyright: AP Photo/ Eranga Jayawardena.
“CWI made formal efforts to expedite the visa process for Akeal and applied for a visa waiver for Jyd,” stated the CWI Media release. “However, these processes are ultimately governed by UK immigration authorities and remain outside of CWI’s control.
“CWI remains optimistic that the matter will be resolved in the coming days, allowing Hosein to join the squad for the remaining matches.
“In the interim, Chase will now remain with the T20 squad for the rest of the series before joining his test team counterparts well ahead of the first Test against Australia in Barbados.
Photo: CWI Media.
“CWI thanks fans and stakeholders for their continued support and understanding as we navigate these administrative challenges and looks forward to a successful series.”
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