Usman Khawaja misses flight to India after visa process delayed

Australia opener Usman Khawaja was unable to join his teammates on either of the two flights for India over the past 36 hours as he is still waiting for a visa from the Indian government. Khawaja represents Australia but was born in Pakistan. The touring players and support staff departed Australia on Tuesday and Wednesday with their initial destination being a training base in Bengaluru. Khawaja was not present on either, as his passport had not returned from the Indian high commission. A Cricket Australia (CA) spokesman confirmed Khawaja was the only player in Australia’s squad not to board either of the flights. Khawaja, 36, posted a popular internet meme of a man sitting on a garden chair staring into space, with the caption: “Me waiting for my Indian Visa like… #stranded #dontleaveme #standard #anytimenow.”

CA expect the visa to arrive on Wednesday and have him booked on a flight departing Thursday. This is not the first time Khawaja’s travel plans for India have been delayed. He required special intervention to travel for the 2011 T20 Champions League. Khawaja had previously toured India in 2013 and 2017 but didn’t get a Test in either of the series. That is unlikely to be repeated this time with the opener in sublime form, scoring 1020 runs in 12 months, and was rewarded with the Shane Warne award for men’s Test player of the year. Australia Tour of India: Full Schedule Test series schedule 1st Test, Nagpur: 9-13 February 2nd Test, Delhi: 17-21 February 3rd Test, Dharamsala: 1-5 March 4th Test, Ahmedabad: 9-13 March ODI series schedule 1st ODI: 17 March, Ahmedabad 2nd ODI: 19 March, Vizag 3rd ODI: 22 March, Chennai Read all the  Latest News****,  Trending News****,  Cricket News****,  Bollywood News****,  India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook****,  Twitter and  Instagram****.