Young England spinner Shoaib Bashir looks set to make his debut in the second Test of the series against England in Visakhapatnam. Bashir couldn’t make his debut in the opening match of the series but a visa issue saw him return home from UAE rather than joining his teammates in India. With Jack Leach ruled out of the second Test, England skipper Ben Stokes hinted at turning to Bashir in the second Test. But, the Stokes refused to confirm that Bashir will definitely make the playing XI.
“He’s ruled out of the second Test,” Stokes said, speaking of Leach’s injury. “Unfortunately, the knock he took resulted in a hematoma in his leg. It’s a big shame for us, a big shame for Jack, obviously after a long time out of the game with his back.
When asked about the rookie spinner Bshir, Stokes gave a rather philosophical answer, saying if the spinner is meant to play in the match, he will.
“If he was to play on this tour, then the great thing he has on his side is, what is there to lose?” Stokes said.
“That is how I will be thinking about it, if he gets the chance to play: just to make sure I can give him the best experience I possibly can. Because you only play your first Test match once. If he does play, then I will be trying to make it as enjoyable and fun for him as I can,” Stokes said.
Stokes, vice-captain Ollie Pope and head coach Brendon McCullum have had a look at the Vizag pitch, based on which a decision will be made about the number of spinners the team wishes to deploy.
But, the England skipper could be leaning towards including Bashir in the team, especially as reports suggest that Vizag pitch will offer good assistance to spinners.
“Myself, Baz [Brendon McCullum] and Popey [vice-captain Ollie Pope] will probably have a longer think about it. We looked at the wicket; I gave it a tap, and a play-around to make it look like I knew what I was doing. Bash is in the squad, we haven’t brought him here to have an experience. If we feel we want to turn to him, we will,” Stokes concluded.