England pacer Saqib Mahmood's India tour preparation hit by visa delay
London, Jan 14: England pacer of Pakistani heritage, Saqib Mahmood, will miss the team's training camp in Abu Dhabi due to delay in getting his India visa for the limited overs tour beginning January 22, according to a report.
'ESPNcricinfo' reported that Mahmood is yet to receive his Indian visa, preventing him from joining the camp in Abu Dhabi as his passport is with the concerned authorities as part of the visa process.
However, he is expected to receive his visa before a batch of cricketers leave for Kolkata on Friday.
It is not the first time that cricketers of Pakistani origin have faced delays in securing an Indian visa. England spinner Shoaib Bashir missed the first Test in Hyderabad last year due to a visa delay.
Australian opener Usman Khawaja had also faced similar delays during the tour of 2023.
Having said that, other England players of Pakistani heritage in the squad, Rehan Ahmed and Adil Rashid, have received their visas, reported the website.
Mahmood has played two Tests, 9 ODIs and 18 T20s for England.
England's limited-over tour of India begins with a T20I in Kolkata on Januray 22.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
