Ahead of the T20 World Cup, the news of some US cricketers being denied visas by India has created ripples in the cricketing world. Their sole sin is that their parents are of Pakistani origin.
For Ali Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Mohammad Mohsin and Ehsan Adil, they spend tense days. Their dream of participating in the global cricket festival is thus in a shambles.
Ali Khan took to Instagram, after which the issue made rounds, wider and stronger, and the centre of his ordeal was “denied”.
That specific Instagram post has now been removed.
Why Does Ali Khan Matter? The person of interest, Ali Khan, is crucial as he was once picked up by Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. KKR management is said to shower him with exclusive favours.in him.
Currently, his runs and bowls in the field are sponsored by the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Los Angeles Knight Riders.
The Location of The Players:
The USA team is currently in Sri Lanka, making their final-minute preparations for the mega tournament in February. They were recently called by the Indian High Commission in Colombo for the visa audience on Tuesday, 13 January.
Post meeting, they posted the outcome as “visa denied” on social media.
On the contrary, the official voice is opposite as no denial is on the table, and the applications are still under further review, they maintain.
How does ICC look at it?
Those with strong links in the ICC broke the news to the media that the bunch of documents were filed without error before the visa discussion, but still, some more documents were needed, and the visa process was still on.
Those at the ICC said, “At the appointment, the players were informed that the visas could not be processed at this stage. Later in the evening, USA management received a call from the Indian Embassy, indicating that some of the required information had been received, while additional inputs were still awaited from the Foreign Ministry. Once that process is complete, they will be contacted to proceed further. That is the current status,” the source added.
Once this process is completed, the players will be contacted for the next steps. The situation remains under review, and officials are hopeful of a positive resolution before the tournament begins.
Officials clarify that the ongoing visa review is a standard procedure for these cases, following Indian government protocols.
They note that no rejection has occurred; applications remain active.
Visa applications involving players of Pakistani origin are often subject to additional administrative checks. The player’s nationality or the team they represent is irrelevant.
The players will get the info about the next steps once this process is concluded.
There is hope among the officials that a favourable decision will be made before the event kicks off, and all points are still under consideration.
Such is the existing visa examination, which is a normal procedure for special category cases, as per the officials who know the matter.
This is being managed entirely as per the Indian government regulations.
Applications are still under consideration, and no outright rejection has occurred so far.
Certain administrative processes are implemented when such visa cases are adjudicated for players of Pakistani origin.
The country they happen to represent and the team they happen to be a part of seldom matter.
Interestingly, similar official checks were put in place in the past for certain players such as Moeen Ali, Shaib Bashir and Usman Khawaja when they visited India to play cricket here.
A couple of English players are also in the queue waiting for their visa approval, as they also share Pakistani roots, ESPNcricinfo maintains.
One of them is prominent spinner Adil Rashid whose family migrated to England from Mirpur, located in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1967.
Another player is Rehan Ahmed, who also belongs to Mirpur, but he was born in Pakistan, unlike Adil, who was born in the UK.
As a matter of fact, such applications need approval from several departments, the sources revealed to the media.
The ultimate authority here is the Ministry of External Affairs, and eyes are turned to it for the final say.
Cricket boards, the ICC, and the tournament itself do not wield any power here.
Officials also stressed that the same rules apply to all World Cup teams. Players of Pakistani origin from countries like the UAE, Canada, Oman and Italy are expected to follow identical procedures.
Additionally, the officials also accentuated the fact that all World Cup teams have to go through a similar procedure.
Pakistani-origin athletes from the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Oman and Italy are expected to adhere to the same regulations and protocols.
T20 World Cup 2026 Versus Pakistan-origin Players:
Many countries have players who belong to Pakistan, and many of them still possess Pakistani passports. We highlight the fact below:
UAE Team:
The skipper Mohammad Waseem is of Pakistani origin, and so are many other players who would fly to the T20 cricket tournament 2026 on their initial Pakistani passports.
Canada Cricket:
A handful of players have been under the lens, such as Saad bin Zafar, Junaid Siddiqui and Kaleem Sana, owing to their Pakistani roots. Among them, the fate of Rayyan Pathan is still uncertain as he was born and brought up in Canada and has a passport of this country.
Oman Squad For Cricket Excellence:
Pakistani origins can be found among most of the Oman players. Among these are Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmad, Hammad Mirza and Wasim Ali, and some others. Although Italy’s squad has not been announced, it is likely to include several players of Pakistani origin. Probables include Zain Naqvi, Zain Ali, Muhammad Arslan, Bilal Muhammad and Faizan Hussain.
