USA’s Ali Khan claims having been ‘denied’ India visa ahead of T20 World Cup

Ali Khan, the USA fast bowler of Pakistan origin, has claimed in a caption to a story on Instagram that he has been “denied” an Indian visa. USA are scheduled to play India in Mumbai on February 7, the opening day of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Khan, who is currently in Colombo for a USA training camp, posted on Tuesday without giving any further details.

ESPNcricinfo has approached the USA team manager for comment.

USA are yet to announce their squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup but it is expected the final 15 will be chosen from the 18 that are at the camp in Sri Lanka.

It is understood that the squad will be picked by the USA coaching group, while the team administration and logistics are being overseen by the ICC, which took charge following the suspension of USA Cricket late last year.

Khan, 35, is one of three USA players of Pakistan origin currently at the camp in Colombo; Ehsan Adil – who has played three Tests for Pakistan – and Mohammad Mohsin are the other two. The ICC has made no official comment on the situation but is understood to be trying to facilitate the matter and is confident it will be resolved.

A number of associate teams in the tournament – Oman, UAE and Italy – will be looking on with interest, given their squads are likely to include a number of players of Pakistan origin, or with Pakistani nationality. England have two players of Pakistan heritage in their squad, Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed.

Last September, the ICC had informed all participating teams that securing visas to India and Sri Lanka, the co-hosts of the T20 World Cup, would be the responsibility of the respective boards but it would facilitate paperwork if needed. In the case of USA, with the suspension of USAC, that responsibility would lie with the ICC.

Worsening diplomatic and political ties between India and Pakistan have made visas an complicated issue in recent years, even for players who are nationals of other countries.

England’s Shoaib Bashir and Saqib Mahmood had faced delays in obtaining visas but were granted them eventually, as was the case with Australia’s Usman Khawaja. The visas for the Pakistan team were also delayed ahead of their travel to India for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

USA, who got a direct entry for the 2026 T20 World Cup after making the Super Eights stage in the 2024 tournament, are scheduled to play three of their four group A matches in India.

Their first match is against defending champions India on the opening day (February 7) of the T20 World Cup in Mumbai, followed by Pakistan in Colombo (February 10) and then two matches in Chennai – against the Netherlands (February 13) and Namibia (February 15). (ESPNcricinfo)