India and West Indies players get US visas and play in the Florida T20Is.
India and West Indies players get US visas : After days of confusion, it is now clear that the last two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) of the five-match series between India and the West Indies team will be played in the United States. Some of the players hadn’t gotten their US visas yet, so there were questions about the last two games. However, the latest news is that both the India and West Indies teams are now officially cleared to travel to the US and will play two T20Is there this weekend, i.e., on August 5th and 6th.
Inability to get visas
Some players and support staff from both teams were able to get US visas, but only at the last minute, thanks to the help of the Guyana government. Irfan Ali, who is the President of Guyana, had to work hard to get the travel permissions. Ricky Skerritt, president of Cricket West Indies (CWI), thanked the head of the Guyana government by saying, “It was a timely and influential diplomatic effort by His Excellency.”
Indian squad
A report says that 14 members of the Indian group didn’t have permission to travel to the United States. However, after India won the third T20I in St. Kitts by 7 wickets on Tuesday, August 2, to go up 2-1 in the series, everyone was flown to Georgetown, Guyana. The partakers also gave interviews at the US Embassy. India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, and their head coach, Rahul Dravid, were both there.
Others, like Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Ravi Bishnoi, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kuldeep Yadav, have already arrived in Miami. On Thursday night, the rest of their team will join them.
“They can fly only tomorrow afternoon. All Visa applications have been approved but passports are not to be returned until this afternoon,” Skerritt said, explaining why the trip was going to be late. “All that the CWI could do has been done. Last night’s charter to Miami, for those previously with visas, was at greater financial risk to delay it than to operate it as previously planned,” Skerritt further said.
Big update from the Indian side
In another big news from the Indian camp, it was said that Rohit, the captain of the Indian team, will be available for the last two matches. The 35-year-old opener had to leave the third T20I on Tuesday because he was hurt, and BCCI later said that he had a back spasm. But he seems to have gotten over it and is ready to lead India again.