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Scotland will be able to fulfil their first T20 World Cup warm-up match against Afghanistan in Bengaluru on Monday after their players’ Indian visas were expedited.
Scotland were invited to the World Cup as late-notice replacements for Bangladesh and named their 15-man squad on January 26. Visas for two of their players – Safyaan Sharif, who has Pakistani heritage, and Zainullah Ihsan, who was born in Afghanistan – were briefly delayed, but they have now arrived in India and trained with their team-mates in Bengaluru on Sunday.
“It has been one hell of a week,” Sharif said before travelling, in a video on Cricket Scotland’s Instagram account. “Once we found out we were going to the World Cup, obviously I couldn’t believe it. For myself, I’m pretty excited, and just can’t wait to get on that park and put in a performance for Scotland.
“Thanks to the Scotland team and the efforts that they’ve put in just to get us on this flight. I’m pretty excited. I’m just glad that the first hurdle is over and we’re just going to get on this plane, enjoy the flight and see the boys in India.”
Tom Bruce is the only Scotland player yet to arrive in India, as he completes his domestic commitments with Central Stags in New Zealand.
Scotland replaced Bangladesh in Group C and will play fixtures against West Indies, Italy, England and Nepal. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Eights stage, which Scotland narrowly missed in 2024 after a no-result against England and a tight defeat to Australia.
Scotland initially missed out on the upcoming World Cup after defeats to Jersey and Italy at last year’s European Qualifiers, and their chief executive Trudy Lindblade conceded last week: “This is not how we wanted to go to a World Cup.”
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