After India visa rejection, suddenly I was being called a terrorist, reveals Saqib Mahmood

Back in January this year, Saqib was picked in the England Lions team that was scheduled to tour India. However, the 22-year-old had his visa application returned marked ‘rejected’, after which he has endured a tough time from people around him. 

“All of a sudden I was being called a terrorist and I had not done anything wrong. People thought I was plotting something when I was going on a cricket tour. I was getting called not a lot of nice things — I tried to forget about it,” Saqib was quoted saying by TimesNowNews.com. 

However, with all that behind him, Saqib continued to wreak havoc on the domestic circuit, bagging 42 wickets in 16 first-class matches at an average of 28.90. His raw pace combined with an ability to seam the ball both ways has seen him land a place in the England squad named for the tour of New Zealand in November. 

“All morning I was staring at my phone waiting for it to ring. I ended up getting the call just as I thought it was not coming. It was a great feeling, almost a too-good-to-be-true feeling,” Saqib added.

England will play five T20Is, before the two Test matches that are part of ICC World Test Championships in the tour starting from November 21.