Rubel Hossain in doubt for SA series after Emirates Airline refuse to let him board

The participation of Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain in the South Africa series is in doubt as he is yet to get a security clearance to join the team. The team from subcontinent landed in the country on Saturday and took a day off to cope with the jet lag. But Rubel could not fly along with his teammates due to the absence of No Objection Certificate (NOC). The first Test is scheduled to begin on 28 September in Potchefstroom.

Bangladesh is high on confidence after they drew the 2-match Test series against Australia at home earlier this month. They defeated them in the first Test in Dhaka historically but the Aussies made a stunning comeback to avert a whitewash at the hands of the Tigers. But the conditions in South Africa would be vastly different and the role of spinners decreases significantly. The fast bowling attack led by Mustafizur Rahman has to deliver for Bangladesh to have any chance of winning against the Proteas.

NOC from immigration security agencies mandate

Without an NOC, Rubel Hossain’s participation in the Test series has come under a shadow of doubt. This comes as a major setback for the visiting side as they commenced the preparations from Monday for the upcoming test. No Objection Certificate from South Africa’s immigration security agencies is a mandate now for visiting South Africa irrespective of whether a visa is obtained or not which forced Emirates Airlines to refuse Rubel a place on board.

Also, the Emirates authorities believe that the chances of him obtaining it immediately are very slim according to the reports based on sources in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The reports suggest that the issue has cropped due to his name as another person in South Africa with the same name is blacklisted by their immigration authorities.

However, the chief executive of the BCB Nizamuddin Chowdhury is still optimistic about Rubel acquiring the required the clearance.

“I spoke with SA Cricket’s chief executive Haroon Lorgat and he assured me that they will look after the matter with utmost sincerity. These days you need to have that security clearance for travelling to some countries and it is issued by authorities of those respective nations. This is a new law and probably Rubel is having the problem due to that,” he said.

In case, Rubel fails to get the clearance from the authorities in time his comeback in the longest format of the game will stretch albeit forcefully. He last played for Bangladesh against New Zealand in January.