After visa delays, Parvinder Awana leaves for West Indies

NEW DELHI: Delhi pacer Parvinder Awana finally departed early on Sunday for the Caribbean to join his India A teammates after sorting out visa formalities which delayed his departure for days. Awana was picked in the India A team as a replacement for the injured RP Singh on May 26 and will now be joining the team in the middle of the second unofficial test against West Indies A.
Sources indicated that Awana, whose impressive IPL performances earned him a ticket into the side, had lost out on playing time since he had a good chance of making it to the playing XI from the very first match. The delay was primarily because of the UK transit visa required for flying to the West Indies.
"The team reaches Heathrow airport first and then takes a flight from Gatwick for the West Indies, which is why it takes a little more time for the visa clearance," a BCCI official confirmed.
Awana applied for the visa right after his selection in the team and gave his finger prints on May 31. "It took around 10 days to get his visa. But this is how it goes," a source said.