Australia opener Usman Khawaja was unable to join his teammates on either of the two flights for India over the past 36 hours as he is still waiting for a visa from the Indian government. Khawaja represents Australia but was born in Pakistan.
The touring players and support staff departed Australia on Tuesday and Wednesday with their initial destination being a training base in Bengaluru. Khawaja was not present on either, as his passport had not returned from the Indian high commission.
A Cricket Australia (CA) spokesman confirmed Khawaja was the only player in Australia’s squad not to board either of the flights.
Khawaja, 36, posted a popular internet meme of a man sitting on a garden chair staring into space, with the caption: “Me waiting for my Indian Visa like… #stranded #dontleaveme #standard #anytimenow.”
CA expect the visa to arrive on Wednesday and have him booked on a flight departing Thursday.
This is not the first time Khawaja’s travel plans for India have been delayed. He required special intervention to travel for the 2011 T20 Champions League.
Khawaja had previously toured India in 2013 and 2017 but didn’t get a Test in either of the series. That is unlikely to be repeated this time with the opener in sublime form, scoring 1020 runs in 12 months, and was rewarded with the Shane Warne award for men’s Test player of the year.
Australia Tour of India: Full Schedule
Test series schedule
1st Test, Nagpur: 9-13 February
2nd Test, Delhi: 17-21 February
3rd Test, Dharamsala: 1-5 March
4th Test, Ahmedabad: 9-13 March
ODI series schedule
1st ODI: 17 March, Ahmedabad
2nd ODI: 19 March, Vizag
3rd ODI: 22 March, Chennai
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