Usman Khawaja left stranded in Australia due to Indian visa issues

The Australian cricket team left for India for the Border Gavaskar Trophy after the conclusion of their awards night, but Usman Khawaja had to stay back due to visa issues. While the rest of the team has already left the country, Khawaja is still waiting for his Indian visa to be approved, and as a result, is stranded at home.

The opening batter is a very crucial member of the team. He won the inaugural Shane Warne award as the Men’s Test Player of the Year at the Australian Cricket Awards. The award has been named after the legendary spinner who passed away last year. Khawaja bagged 22 votes in his favor to beat Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, who received 20 and 16 votes respectively.

The prolific opener shared a ‘meme’ template on his official Instagram account and captioned it:

“Me waiting for my Indian Visa like... #stranded #dontleaveme #standard #anytimenow”

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A post shared by Usman Khawaja (@usman_khawajy)

The Australian team flew out of Sydney on Tuesday, January 31. Khawaja, who is still in Australia, is likely to get his visa cleared and leave for India on Thursday, February 2. Except for Pakistan-born Khawaja, who similarly encountered visa issues back in 2011 when trying to travel to the nation, every member of the 18-man squad has been given clearance to enter India. Khawaja then resorted to social media to express his annoyance at being denied entry into the nation as an Australian, since he was not born there.

India and Australia gear up for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

As for the series, both teams will start preparing for the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy, which is set to begin on February 9, Thursday, and the first of the four Tests will be played at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha in Nagpur.

The teams will then move to Delhi for the second Test, which will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium from February 17. The third Test is scheduled to be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala from March 1, and the fourth and final Test will be played at the world’s largest cricket stadium- the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from March 9.

The result of the four-match Test series will determine India’s fate at the World Test Championship final. While Australia dominates the WTC Rankings and have secured the top spot, India are placed second and need to win the upcoming series in order to confirm their place at the WTC final. The Indian side lost the previous edition of the WTC to New Zealand in 202,1 but would be hoping to turn things around this time and clinch the ICC Test mace.