Saqib Mahmood lastly granted visa for England’s white-ball tour to India after lacking out on tempo bowling camp alongside Jofra Archer

England’s Saqib Mahmood has finally been granted his visa for their tour to India which begins next week and will be able to board the same flight as his teammates, when they depart for the subcontinent on Friday.

Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Monday that Mahmood was scheduled to leave for the UAE last Thursday for a pace bowling camp alongside Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood but the ECB were forced to cancel his flight with his passport still in the hands of the Indian Embassy, even though the paperwork was handed in last month.

Freezing conditions in the UK left him unable to bowl outdoors while his teammates are in the UAE alongside fast-bowling mentor Jimmy Anderson.

Mahmood has spent the last week in limbo, awaiting a resolution but was given the news on Thursday morning that his visa was granted and will be able to join the rest of England’s touring party, with his passport expected to be back with him later today. England’s first T20 against India is in Kolkata next Wednesday.

The 27-year-old was named Player of the Series in England’s last white-ball tour to the West Indies in November, where he took nine wickets in three matches and broke the record for the most powerplay wickets claimed by an England bowler in a men’s series.

The UAE trip was planned to help England’s seamers acclimatise to conditions ahead of the white-ball tour to India, which includes three ODI’s and five T20I’s and the subsequent Champions Trophy which takes place in Pakistan and UAE next month.

Saqib Mahmood has finally been granted his visa for their tour to India which begins next week and will be able to board the same flight as his teammates

Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Monday that Mahmood was scheduled to leave for the UAE last Thursday for a pace bowling camp

Last year, Lancashire travelled to India without Mahmood after failing to apply for a visa and in 2019, the ECB failed to obtain a visa for Mahmood to travel to India as part of an England Lions squad despite applying well in advance, due to his Pakistani heritage.

This is the latest episode of visa problems for England players with Pakistani heritage after Shoaib Bashir was forced to fly back to London on the eve of England’s Test series against India last year to obtain his visa and Rehan Ahmed was held in Rajkot as he only had a single-entry visa.