Visa issues have left star Pakistan-born batter Usman Khawaja stranded in Australia while his teammates prepare in India for this month's blockbuster Test tour.
Australia's No.1-ranked squad took staggered flights to the subcontinent on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, beginning in Nagpur on February 9.
Khawaja remains in Sydney waiting for his visa to be approved but Cricket Australia is hopeful the 36-year-old will be cleared to fly out of the country on Thursday.
The visa process for entry to India usually asks applicants whether they or their parents are of Pakistani origin.
Approval into India can be often be complex and time-consuming, but every other member of Australia's 18-man squad has already been granted entry.
It is not the first time the Islamabad-born Khawaja has faced visa challenges when trying to enter India.
In 2011, Khawaja took to social media to vent his frustration he had not been permitted to enter the country because he was not born in Australia.
On Wednesday, Australia's opener posted a popular meme on Instagram along with the hashtags "stranded", "dontleaveme", "standard" and "anytimenow".
A CA official told AAP the governing body was aware of the situation and was hopeful Khawaja would be approved for entry into India imminently.
The classy left-hander was not due to train with teammates in Bangalore on Thursday, regardless, and the team's hierarchy is not concerned the delay will affect his preparation.
Khawaja, set to play his first Test match in India this month, has been cleared to enter the country in other formats on numerous occasions before.
He toured with the Test team in 2013, when he was part of the infamous homework-gate scandal with teammates James Pattinson, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson.
Khawaja also represented Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL in 2016, played for Australia A on an Indian tour in 2018, and toured again with the national ODI team in 2019 when he scored two centuries.
The Australian Cricketers' Association have not been involved in the process and declined to comment about Khawaja's situation when contacted by AAP.
Khawaja's Big Bash League side the Brisbane Heat are scheduled to play the Sydney Sixers in 'The Challenger' final at the SCG on Thursday night.
But a Heat official told AAP it was unlikely Khawaja would participate in the match if he was still in Sydney, with securing a visa to India remaining the player's top priority.
The revival of Khawaja's international career was one of the cricket stories of 2022, starring after his recall into the Test team following more than two years in the wilderness.
He put in a career-best year to claim Australia's Shane Warne Test player of the year award and be named as an opener in the ICC's best XI.
Khawaja starred with 496 runs at an average of 165.33 during Australia's gritty 1-0 Test series win in Pakistan, the team's first tour of the country in 24 years.
