England boost as Rehan Ahmed cleared to play in third Test against India

Rehan Ahmed has been cleared to play in the third Test against India that starts on Thursday, with Ben Stokes, the England captain, confident the leg-spinner has not been affected by the high-profile visa blunder that nearly cost him his place in the side.

Ahmed, 19, was named in the England XI a day out from the match, Stokes having elected to make one change from the 106-run defeat in Visakhapatnam. Eyeing a flat pitch at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, England have opted to bring in the pace of Mark Wood for spinner Shoaib Bashir as they attempt to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

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England have certainly got away with one here, Ahmed having flown into Rajkot with the team on Monday after their six-day break in Abu Dhabi only to discover his single-entry visa was invalid. Initially granted a temporary two-day entry by immigration officials at the airport, Ahmed secured a new visa on Wednesday morning.

Had that initial leniency not transpired and Ahmed been forced to return to the UK, England’s selection would have been compromised. But though the error has raised questions about the operations department at the England and Wales Cricket Board – not least after Bashir’s visa issue at the start of the tour - Stokes chose not to point fingers.

“When you have a problem like that rather than try to blame someone you just have to try to find a solution and get it sorted,” said Stokes. “I don’t know how we ended up in that situation but we were straight on to doing what we needed to do to get Rehan in, rather than wasting time trying to find out whose fault it was. That wouldn’t have got us anywhere.

“We were very confident we would get the [full] visa before the game. It’s always an anxious period but thankfully we’ve got it. There were no thoughts around not playing him. The great thing about youth is they take everything in their stride and I thought he handled a situation that could have affected quite a lot of people very well for such a young kid.

England (confirmed): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson

India (possible): Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

“The Test matches he’s played so far, he’s done well and everything we’ve asked of him, he’s gone out and tried to deliver. I’m looking forward to him getting another game this week.”

Stokes was similarly keen to get on with the match himself, the 32-year-old giving little credence to his 100th Test appearance and what will be the presentation of a new England cap before the start of play. “I’m looking forward to getting that done and dusted,” he said. “I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to play a part in 100 Tests, because it’s quite a lot. But it’s just one more game and hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”

On Bashir, who steps down after a promising Test debut last week in which he held his own and made Rohit Sharma the first of four wickets in the match, Stokes added: “He’ll just take it in his stride, he’s a young lad and would want to play every game possible but I’ve got no doubt there will be more opportunities for him going forward in this series. He’s more than happy to be here, helping out the lads, improving his skills every single day.”

India meanwhile appear set to recall Ravindra Jadeja on his home ground, the all-rounder appearing at the pre-match press conference and stating he is “hopeful” of his fitness after the hamstring injury suffered when run out by Stokes on the final day in Hyderabad.

Jadeja’s return – possibly in place of Axar Patel, albeit with India not naming their XI before the toss – resumes his long-standing partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin. The 37-year-old heads into the match one wicket away from becoming the third finger spinner after Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Nathan Lyon (517) to reach 500 in Test cricket.

Jadeja said: “He will definitely complete his 500 wickets on this ground. I am very excited because I have been playing with him for 12-13 years and to achieve this is a really big thing. I thought he would complete it in the first Test but it’s OK, it’s written in destiny that he will complete his 500 wickets in Rajkot, my hometown.”