Blind Pakistan cricketers denied visas to Britain

Pakistan's blind cricket team, the reigning world champions, have been denied visas to travel to Britain.

The team were due to play four matches on a tour of the UK, on the invitation of Blind Cricket England and Wales, but the UK border agency told the BBC that they didn't have sufficient evidence to be sure the players would return to Pakistan on completion of the tour.

"We provided letters from our council, and from the Pakistan Cricket Board, who confirmed they would cover all costs," Syed Sultan Shah, the chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, told the BBC. "The English Cricket Board supplied our names and passport numbers. The Pakistan ministry of sport gave us official leave to travel. We all signed affidavits to say we would return, and if we did not, our families would be penalised. What more could we do? "When we toured the UK in 2002 and 2006, nobody stayed behind. We just want to play cricket."

The players, all amateurs, had all taken leave from their jobs, and spent a considerable amount of money on a recent training camp. "But it's not the money," Shah said. "It feels like we are being denied our rights. We are all very hurt, very disturbed and feel very insulted by this."

The UK Border Agency, however, were adamant that the decisions made were in the best interests of the security of the country.

"We will make no apology for maintaining tough border controls created to prevent abuse of the immigration system," the agency said in a statement. "If applications do not contain the necessary evidence and we are not satisfied individuals will return at the end of their visit their visas will be refused."