England Cricket Board's Director Snubs Jack Leach To Name This 20-Year-Old As England's Future Spin Superstar

England Cricket Team has announced the squad for their tour of India on Monday, 11 December. England included three uncapped players in their side for the five-match test series. Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley, and Gus Atinkson are the three uncapped players picked for the India tour as they prepare to face the spin challenge against Rohit Sharma-led Indian team.

England Cricket Board’s director Rob Key highlighted the 20-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who gathered a lot of attention after bowling a spectacular spell to legendary opener and Former England skipper Alastair Cook in his maiden County Championship in 2023. Shoaib Bashir kept Alastair Cook on his toes with his deliveries and Cook was restricted to guessing in Bashir’s 25-ball spell.

Rob Key said that Shoaib Bashir has the caliber to become a superstar in the future for England and that the Test series against India would be a great experience for him even if he doesn’t get a spot in the playing XI. “He’s going for experience as much as anything else but we won’t be afraid to play him if required. This is the start of a journey of hopefully a world-class spinner in the future,” Key told BBC Sports.

Shoaib Bashir Impresses England Selectors After A Terrific Debut Season With Somerset

Shoaib Bashir earned England’s call-up after impressing the selectors in their recent camp in the United Arab Emirates. Bashir bagged 10 scalps in his debut season at Somerset and the County Championship. He troubled legends like Alastair Cook which grabbed a lot of eyes.

“It’s been a mad, mad journey,” Bashir said during his debut match against Essex. “I’ve always dreamed about being a professional cricketer. It means the world. I’m going to keep working hard, keep grinding, and hopefully maintain this level. There is still a lot to work on,” he further added.

Shoaib Bashir has played six first-class matches and has managed to take 10 wickets at an average of 67. He is also effective as a lower-order batter scoring 71 runs in his brief first-class stint as of now. A young spinner like him could be England’s future given the likes of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are already in the last chapter of their career with the latter already retired from red-ball cricket.

Rob Key has assured that if required, Bashir will get to make his debut in India and a spinner can never ask for a better debut than in India given the spin-friendly conditions present there. However, the first choice spinner for England will be Jack Leach who performed really well the last time, and England toured India.

England Test Squad for India tour 2024: Ben Stokes(c), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson*, Jonny Bairstow, Shoib Bashir*, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley*, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood. (* indicates uncapped players).