Imran Tahir claims mistreatment at Pakistan High Commission in Birmingham
Tahir will take part in the Independence Cup for the World XI
What's the story?
South African leg spinner Imran Tahir claims that he was mistreated at the Pakistan High Commission in Birmingham where he had gone, along with his family, to secure his visa. The Pakistan-born spinner is part of the World XI side that will play Pakistan in a three-match T20I series at Lahore.
In a tweet, the 38-year-old leg spinner described the "painful trauma" that he and his family members had been through after waiting for five hours before being expelled by the staff at the consulate. The Lahore-born spinner claimed that he was mistreated by the staff and also thanked High Commissioner lbn e Abbas for rescuing.
Here is the tweet that posted following the incident in Birmingham:
In case you didn't know...
Pakistan are scheduled to play a World XI led by Faf du Plessis in the Independence Cup at Lahore in three T20Is. The matches are a bid to bring back international cricket to Pakistan and will feature several international stars including Faf du Plessis, two-time World T20 winning West Indies captain Darren Sammy and several others including Imran Tahir.
World XI squad: Faf du Plessis (C), David Miller, Morne Morkel, Tim Paine, Thisara Perera, Imran Tahir, Darren Sammy, Hashim Amla, Grant Elliott, Samuel Badree, George Bailey, Tamim Iqbal, Paul Collingwood, Ben Cutting.
The heart of the matter
Tahir, who was born in Pakistan and played U-19 cricket for the country has established himself as South Africa's first-choice spinner and is currently ranked No.3 in the T20I bowlers rankings. He is one of five South Africans in the World XI squad that will take on Pakistan.
Following his tweet, Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal responded by saying that the matter will be investigated.
What's next?
Now that his visa has been granted, Tahir will finally get the opportunity to play an international match in the country of his birth. The Independence Cup against Pakistan will take place in Lahore on September 12, 13 and 15 and Tahir will hope to make an impact as the No.3 ranked T20I bowler in the world.
Author's take
It is a sad state of affairs when someone is mistreated while going through the due process and that it happened to someone born in Pakistan at a Pakistan Embassy isn't a great sign. One hopes that what happened to the 38-year-old doesn't happen again and swift action is taken against the staff if there was indeed a mistake on their part.