England skipper Ben Stokes said on Wednesday that teenage spinner Rehan Ahmed had taken his visa scare in his stride ahead of his scheduled participation in this week's third Test against India.
The 19-year-old Ahmed, a leg-spinner, had an issue on returning to India after the team's 10-day break in Abu Dhabi.
Ahmed had a single-entry visa that expired once he left for a mid-series break to the UAE, and was initially stopped at the airport before being granted a temporary entry permit while authorities resolved the issue.
"It was always one of those situations for an individual where having to wait for that, it's always an anxious period, but thankfully we've got it through this morning," Stokes said on the eve of his landmark 100th Test.
"The great thing about youth is they just take everything in their stride and I thought he handled a situation – could have affected quite a lot of people in a different way – very, very well for such a young kid."
Ahmed was the latest cricketer with Pakistani ancestry to face entry troubles in India. Teammate Shoaib Bashir had to miss the opening Test due to his visa issues, but for Ahmed the case has been reported as a paperwork mistake on the English side.
"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.
"We've had two of those situations so far on this trip," he added. "When it came up at the airport 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."
Ahmed, England's youngest cricketer in all three formats, has taken eight wickets in the series at an average of 36.37.
The match will see Stokes play his 100th Test, the 16th England cricketer to achieve the feat, but the star all-rounder played down the landmark.
"Milestones are what they are," he said. "I've always enjoyed playing against India because of the contest, the theatre it brings."
India v England second Test - Day 4 in pictures
The tourists made one change for the match that started in Rajkot today, with spinner Bashir making way for Mark Wood to come in as the second seamer alongside James Anderson.
England decided to change their combination of three spinners and one seamer, which they have used so far in the five-match series. The series is currently tied 1-1.
Wood, 34, makes his return after going wicketless in the opener, which the tourists won on a turning track.
The pitch in Rajkot looks hard with a tinge of green but Stokes remains wary of any predictions on the wicket after England's last Test at the venue in 2016 ended in a five-day draw.
"Taking a bit of knowledge from the last Test match we played here, albeit a long time ago, it was a pretty true, flat wicket," said Stokes.
"It looks a bit platey but I think it's a good wicket. Bringing in an extra seamer this week is the option we've gone with because we think it's going to give us the best chance of winning."
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
BMW%20M4%20Competition
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THREE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: Dh898,000
On sale: now
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 10am:
Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)
Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog
Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan
Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)
Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)
Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)
Court 1
Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh
Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
FA%20Cup%20semi-final%20draw
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Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
