Visas in limbo as U-19s sweat on clearance for Oman tour

Bangladesh’s Under-19 cricket team are scheduled to fly to Oman at 7:30 am on Tuesday, but with fewer than eight hours remaining before departure, it is still uncertain on Monday night whether the players and coaching staff would be able to travel for their Youth ODI series against Afghanistan.

Head coach Hannan Sarkar said the team were initially scheduled to leave Dhaka last Saturday, but their departure was postponed due to visa complications. They were subsequently told to prepare for a Tuesday morning flight, although Hannan had yet to receive confirmation that everyone had secured their visas.

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“The visa is expected to arrive by now, as the flight is at 7:30 am tomorrow morning,” Hannan told The Daily Star on Monday, adding that he was still unsure whether the visas had arrived.

Despite the uncertainty over the departure, Hannan said the schedule of the series  -- the first assignment for this crop of Under-19 cricketers -- had been revised, with Bangladesh now set to play four matches instead of the five originally planned for October 13, 15, 18, 20 and 23 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.

“If we go tomorrow, under the new schedule, we will play one fewer match, we have arranged to play four matches. The entire series has been rescheduled,” he said.

“We are all preparing to travel to Oman in the morning,” he added.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), meanwhile, announced on its Facebook page on Monday that its Under-19 team had already left for Oman. The opening match is scheduled for October 16, with the four-match series concluding on October 23.

Contacted by The Daily Star, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said the decision on whether the team would depart as scheduled would depend on the visa situation, particularly whether most players received their visas before the flight.

“Their [Oman] visa process is a bit complicated. Because of that, visas are coming in individually. Some have arrived, some haven't yet. But they communicated that the rest should arrive by tonight,” Nizamuddin said.

He said the team might travel in stages if most of the visas arrived in time.

“It's a logistical matter, so we will make a decision based on the situation. If a majority get theirs, they might board the flight first, and the rest can follow the next day. Our operational team is in touch with theirs. When it was getting delayed, I spoke with their president, who was hopeful it would come through today. They initially said by afternoon, but some have started coming in and others may follow,” he said.

Nizamuddin attributed the delay to immigration clearance procedures, over which neither cricket board has direct control.

“It's a clearance procedure delay. Neither board has direct control over it, it depends on their country's immigration department. Middle East immigration departments generate visas through digital systems, not manual push. We can only pursue board-to-board, as we don't have direct access to their immigration,” he added.

He said similar complications could arise next month when Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Oman for the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup.

“It could be, depending on the situation. The matter is entirely handled by the concerned country's immigration department, not the cricket board, though the local board can try to expedite it,” he said.