"Shoaib Bashir looked completely nerveless.."- Michael Atherton

Former England captain Michael Atherton has heaped praise on spinner Shoaib Bashir for his ‘nerveless’ performance on his debut. After missing the first Test due to a visa issue, the young spinner got a chance to play in the ongoing second Test in Vishakhapatnam.

While England were unlikely to tinker with the winning combination, they were forced to make changes to the team after a knee injury ruled Jack Leach out of the game. Leach was replaced by Shoaib Bashir and the youngster pretty much justified the faith shown in him by the team-management.

He gave England the first breakthrough by dismissing India captain Rohit Sharma for just 14 runs. Later in the game, Shoaib Bashir dismissed Axar Patel as well. And his performance made a big impression on Michael Atherton.

Michael Atherton praises Shoaib Bashir:

Speaking to Sky Sports, Michael Atherton was all praises for Shoaib Bashir’s attitude on his debut, saying that the spinner looked “completely nerveless”. The former cricketer-turned-commentator also stated that the youngster showed the temperament required for red-ball cricket.

“For him to bowl as he did today, 28 overs, I think he looked completely nerveless. He bowled accurately throughout. And there is not much in the pitch for him or anybody else, to be honest,” said Atherton.

“He gets quite a bit of bounce because of his height and the overspin that he gets on the ball. Obviously, the crowning moment for him was when he got Rohit Sharma out.”

“It is a huge wicket, because India’s batting line-up is actually quite inexperienced for them. Shoaib got him early on, picked up a late wicket and took a catch as well, so it couldn’t have really gone better for him. Most importantly of all, he showed he has got the temperament for the occasion today; a terrific day for him,” he added.

Talking about the game, India have posted 396 runs in their first innings. Opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal starred with the bat for the hosts, playing a sublime knock of 209 runs. No other Indian player could score a fifty in the innings with Shubman Gill (34) and debutant Rajat Patidar (32) being the only other players who managed to reach the 30-run mark.

In reply, England were on 81 for 1 after 16 overs at the time of writing this report. The tourists are currently leading the five-match series after winning the first Test by 28 runs in Hyderabad.