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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HC quashes criminal proceedings against Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi in drugs abuse case
Bengaluru, Jan 14: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings against Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi in a drug case, saying the prosecution could not substantiate the charges with material evidence.
The bench of Justice Hemant Chandanagoudar also quashed the proceedings against the co-accused Prashant Ranka.
It said, "However, to substantiate the charges against the petitioners, the prosecution has not produced any material evidence to prove that the petitioners organized parties or sold drugs, apart from the voluntary statements of the co-accused and chargesheet witnesses."
"Therefore, the continuation of the criminal proceedings against the petitioners will be an abuse of the legal process of law,” Justice Chandanagoudar observed.
Ragini was among the many celebrities from the Kannada film industry arrested in September 2020.
A case was registered against her at the Cottonpet police station based on a statement by a co-accused B K Ravishankar on September 4, 2020.
