Visa ‘denied’? US cricketers of Pakistani origin still awaiting India’s clearance for T20 World Cup 2026

Four US cricketers of Pakistani origin are awaiting visa clearance to travel to India for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, according to Cricbuzz. The players are Ali Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Mohammad Mohsin and Ehsan Adil.

The issue drew wider attention after Ali Khan posted an Instagram story. He reportedly mentioned that his visa had been “denied”. The Instagram Story is no longer available.

Ali Khan was once a part of Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He seems to be a favourite of the KKR management. He currently plays for both the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Los Angeles Knight Riders.

The four players are currently in Sri Lanka with the USA squad as part of their final preparation for the February tournament. They recently attended scheduled visa appointments at the Indian High Commission in Colombo, according to the publication.

They completed their visa appointments on Tuesday, 13 January. However, visas were not issued during the appointments.

But, officials confirmed there has been no rejection so far. The applications are still under review under standard procedures.

Sources at the ICC informed Cricbuzz that all documents were submitted correctly prior to the appointments. After the visit, the USA team management was informed that some required information had been received.

“At the appointment, the players were informed that the visas could not be processed at this stage. Later in the evening, USA management received a call from the Indian Embassy, indicating that some of the required information had been received, while additional inputs were still awaited from the Foreign Ministry. Once that process is complete, they will be contacted to proceed further. That is the current status," the source added.

Once this process is completed, the players will be contacted for the next steps. The situation remains under review, and officials are hopeful of a positive resolution before the tournament begins.

Officials familiar with the matter have clarified that the ongoing visa review is a standard procedure for special-category cases. It is being handled strictly, as per Indian government protocols.

According to them, there has been no rejection, and the applications remain active.

Visa applications involving players of Pakistani origin are often subject to additional administrative checks. The player’s nationality or the team they represent is irrelevant.

Similar processes were followed in the past for international cricketers such as Moeen Ali, Shoaib Bashir and Usman Khawaja during their visits to India.

According to ESPNcricinfo, two England cricketers of Pakistani origin are also waiting for their visa clearance. One of them is Adil Rashid, whose family migrated to England from Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1967.

Rehan Ahmed, also from Mirpur (PoK), is the other cricketer awaiting his visa. Unlike Adil, who was born in the UK, Rehan was born in Pakistan.

Sources close to the process have informed Cricbuzz that such applications typically require approval from multiple departments. The final clearance comes from India’s Ministry of External Affairs. These steps operate independently of cricket boards, the ICC or tournament organisers.

Officials also stressed that the same rules apply to all World Cup teams. Players of Pakistani origin from countries like the UAE, Canada, Oman and Italy are expected to follow identical procedures.

For Canada, Saad bin Zafar, Junaid Siddiqui and Kaleem Sana are of Pakistani descent. The details of Rayyan Pathan’s origin is unclear. Pathan, born and brought up in Canada, holds a Canadian passport.

Many players in the Oman squad have Pakistani origins. Such players include Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmad, Hammad Mirza and Wasim Ali, among others.

Although Italy’s squad has not been announced, it is likely to include several players of Pakistani origin. Probables include Zain Naqvi, Zain Ali, Muhammad Arslan, Bilal Muhammad and Faizan Hussain.