England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed withdrew from the ongoing Test series against India. Ahmed flew back home due to personal reasons and will not return, said the England and Wales Cricket Board just after the toss of the fourth Test in Ranchi. England will not be replacing Ahmed for the rest of the tour.
Ahmed, who featured in all three Tests of the series, was not included for the fourth Test in Ranchi as England decided to bring back off-spinner Shoaib Bashir into the XI. Bashir made his debut in the second Test in Vizag but was dropped for the third Test in Rajkot for an extra seamer in Mark Wood. Ahmed picked up 11 wickets in the three Tests that he played.
Notably, Ahmed is the third cricketer to withdraw from the India vs England Test series after Harry Brook and Virat Kohli. Ahmed also faced visa issues when the England team arrived in Rajkot after a break in Abu Dhabi. The leg-spinner was stopped at the immigration office at the Rajkot airport for carrying the wrong visa. He was allowed entry after a temporary visa was issued. A couple of days later, BCCI and ECB got together to get the correct visa on time
