Michael Vaughan hails Ben Stokes for Shoaib Bashir's selection, thanks India for preparing pitch to assist England

Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan lauded Shoaib Bashir for his impressive bowling performance during the fourth Test against India. Michael Vaughan also commended skipper Ben Stokes for backing Shoaib Bashir despite his limited first-class experience.

Shoaib Bashir was included in the England Test squad alongside Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, and Tom Hartley. The young off-spinner had played only six first-class games before his Test debut in Visakhapatnam, where he picked up four wickets across both innings.

The 20-year-old was dropped from the playing XI for the third Test against India, where England suffered a 434-run loss in Rajkot. However, he returned to the lineup for the fourth Test in place of Rehan Ahmed. He made an impact with the ball in his comeback Test.

Brilliant From The England Selectors – Michael Vaughan

Shoaib Bashir made the most of the inconsistent bounce on the Ranchi surface. He ran through the Indian batting lineup in the ongoing match on Day 2. The spin bowler picked up four wickets, including Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Michael Vaughan took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to praise Shoaib Bashir’s selection despite his lack of first-class experience and modest wicket count. Vaughan attributed Bashir’s success to the decision of the England selectors.

“Shoaib Bashir is one of the great selections .. No first class experience .. No huge amount of wickets in the games he has played .. just a gut feel .. brilliant from the England selectors ..” Michael Vaughan wrote.

First Time I Saw Shoaib Bashir Was On Twitter – Ben Stokes

Earlier, skipper Ben Stokes revealed that he first noticed Shoaib Bashir’s talent through a County Championship clip shared on Twitter. Stokes then shared the clip with fellow coaches Rob Key and Brendon McCullum, which led to Bashir’s selection for the Lions tour.

“To be perfectly honest, Abu Dhabi was the first real live look I got at Bash. The first time I saw him was on Twitter. I think the County Championship [account] put a little clip together of him bowling against Sir Alastair,” Stokes told ESPNcricinfo.

“I’m in a WhatsApp group with Keysy (Rob Key) and Baz (Brendon McCullum). I actually did forward the clip on and said, ‘have a look at this, this could be something we could work with on our India tour’ and it just progressed from there. He got selected on the Lions tour and obviously, the coaches on that tour fed everything back to us,” he added.

India Have Brought England Into The Game – Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan commented on the struggles of Indian batters on a spin-friendly pitch with low bounce. Vaughan stated that it played a significant role in bringing England into the game.

“India have completely brought England into the game preparing a pitch like this … much appreciated …” Vaughan added.

Shoaib Bashir is one of the great selections .. No first class experience .. No huge amount of wickets in the games he has played .. just a gut feel .. brilliant from the England selectors .. #INDvEnG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 24, 2024

India have completely brought England into the game preparing a pitch like this … much appreciated … #INDvENG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 24, 2024

Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley dismissed Sarfaraz Khan, who scored two fifties on debut. Hartley then went on to dismiss Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored one run off 13 balls, LBW. The home team collapsed to 177/7, with six wickets taken by English spin bowlers.

However, wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav added an unbeaten 42 runs for the eighth wicket. Jurel scored 30 runs off 58 balls, while Kuldeep contributed 17 runs. The Rohit Sharma-led team still trails by 134 runs at the end of the second day’s play.

Also read: Michael Vaughan’s post on ‘angry’ Jonny Bairstow turns out to be a jinx during IND vs ENG 4th Test