ISLAMABAD: Pakistan fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti was waylaid in Dubai on Thursday after landing in the United Arab Emirates with an expired visa.
The Pakistan Cricket Board says in a statement it has made arrangements for Bhatti to stay at a hotel inside Dubai airport and has applied for a new visa. The board is hopeful the issue will be resolved within 24 hours and Bhatti can join the team.
The board says Bhatti “inadvertently used his UAE visa to enter Dubai on his way back to Pakistan from South Africa” on Tuesday.
Bhatti didn’t inform the PCB, and was caught out on the team’s return to Dubai.
He made his Pakistan debut during the short limited-overs tour of South Africa last month, playing both Twenty20s and all three one-day internationals, where Pakistan beat the Proteas in an ODI series for the first time.
Pakistan plays a Twenty20 against Afghanistan on Sunday in Sharjah before it hosts Sri Lanka on a 10-match tour from next Wednesday. – Dawn
