Despite being in England, owing to visa issues, the Oval Invincibles were forced to replace the Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane with South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. This is the second time in two months the Nepal leg-spinner has been ruled out of a competition in the United Kingdom.
Having previously been ruled out of the Vitality Blast, the 20-year-old Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was handed a piece of bad news when his visa prevented him from being available for The Hundred. While it not only left the leg-spinner terribly angry, he also took to his Facebook page, asking a clear answer from the cricketing board regarding the issues with his visa.
Despite reaching the country before the stipulated date, the leg-spinner’s visa was deemed invalid, with the ECB requesting him to return to his country, two days before the competition of his quarantine period. In the wake of this event, the Oval Invincibles’ have replaced the leg-spinner with World No.1 spinner in the T20Is, Tabraiz Shamsi.
“Due to COVID-19 situation, there was a delay in my visa and Worcestershire pulled out but it was again communicated to me by officials that as long as I come into the UK before July 10, I would be okay as my COS was still active,” Sandeep posted on his Facebook page.
“I came in the UK by July 9, had no issues whatsoever at the immigration and moved into the government managed quarantine facility to complete my quarantine. On July 18, two days before my quarantine completion, I was told by ECB that may visa is not valid and I have to leave the country ASAP. I have been asking what went wrong but apparently no-one at the ECB have the correct answer. I can totally understand that things can go south at any time, however I at least deserve a clear answer on why my valid visa is not valid anymore,” he added.
“I left a lot to be part of this exciting tournament and totally pray and wish the best for all teams out there. I always got love from the lovely people of UK and I would urge ECB to look into the matter so that no-one else has to go through this ordeal. I can also feel for my people who were so looking forward to my participation in this amazing tournament. There will be better days ahead,” he concluded.
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