Cricket Scotland has named its 15-man squad for next month’s T20 World Cup, and the clock is already ticking on the paperwork. The players are scheduled to fly out later this week, yet visas remain in the in-tray – most pressingly for fast bowler Safyaan Sharif, whose Pakistani heritage can slow the Indian application process.
Chief executive Trudy Lindblade says the governing body has been assured by the ICC that the issue is front-of-mind: “We are all committed [to] working with the ICC to make that happen,” she explained on Monday. “The visa piece is always slightly an unknown, and it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got three days or whether you’ve got 45 days.”
Scotland were drafted into the tournament after Bangladesh withdrew at short notice, so everything – logistics, kit, itineraries – is happening at speed. Political tension between India and Pakistan frequently delays visas for people with Pakistani roots, a reality that has affected several cricketers in recent years. Sharif, born in Huddersfield to a Pakistani father and British-Pakistani mother before moving north of the border aged seven, is the latest to feel the squeeze.
Lindblade admits the last two days have been dominated by passport forms and biometric appointments. “Certainly that’s been our focus in the last 48 hours: just getting those visas done so our players are all ready to go. They’re all in the middle of submitting their visas and we will be there on the ground in India as quickly as we can, so it’s just a matter of time now.
“[The ICC] can only give us the assurances of the bits that they can control and, absolutely, of the bits that they control, we are working with them and obviously they’re working with the BCCI and local people on the ground there to make sure that we are getting all of that support that we need.
“So, absolutely, [they have given] the assurance that they can provide of things that were in their control. There is a team working very, very hard to not just help us, but to help 19 other teams as well that are also going to a World Cup. But we are their intense focus right now.”
To guard against late paperwork, Scotland are also filing applications for two travelling reserves and three non-travelling reserves. Head of performance Steve Snell feels the ICC are doing everything they can: “We [also] anticipate some support whenever we can [get it] from the BCCI,” he said. “I don’t think we need to escalate that any further to get into the country, because you’d suggest that Scotland being invited to attend the World Cup and then not being able to get there wouldn’t be a great look for anybody.”
On the cricket side there are three changes from the 2024 campaign, when Scotland narrowly missed the Super 8s. Nineteen-year-old quick Zainullah Ihsan, born in Afghanistan, receives a maiden call-up and could debut in Kolkata on 7 February against West Indies. Former New Zealand middle-order batter Tom Bruce, who played 17 T20Is between 2017 and 2020, is another eye-catching inclusion after switching allegiance last year and making his ODI bow for Scotland.
Sharif, eighth on Scotland’s all-time wicket list in T20Is, remains central to their plans with the new ball. For now, though, attention stays fixed on visa approvals rather than yorkers and slower balls. The squad hope the paperwork lands in time; the opening game is only a fortnight away, and the margin for delay is shrinking by the hour.
