Managing Director of England Cricket Rob Key has spoken out about England’s squad for the five-match test series against India, praising emerging spinner Shoaib Bashir for his brilliant bowling in his maiden country championship, where he impressed everyone with his skillset and temperament against quality batters.
England has named three uncapped players in their 16-man squad that will face India in five Tests beginning next month. The ECB has given opportunities to fast bowler Gus Atkinson, as well as spinners Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir in unfamiliar territory for the youngsters, as England seeks to win their first Test series in India since 2012.
Speaking to BBC Sports, Rob Key stated that Shoaib Bashir has the potential to be a superstar in the future and that the Test series will be beneficial to him and also stated the reason behind the exclusion of Liam Dawson was that there was no purpose in having Dawson on the tour if he was not going to feature in the side owing to the presence of Jack Leach.
“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.”
“He is probably not someone who wants to go around India as the 15th or 16th man, If he’s not going to play then I don’t think it’s high on his agenda to be going as essentially a replacement bowler,” Rob Key said.
Young right-arm off-break bowler Shoaib Bashir took 10 wickets in six games for Somerset in the county championship, whereas Hartley has greater experience, having taken 40 wickets at an average of 36.57 for Lancashire. Gus Atkinson is regarded as one of England’s next big things, having recently taken 20 wickets in Surrey’s successful County title defence.
I’ve Always Dreamed About Being A Professional Cricketer – Shoaib Bashir
Meanwhile, Shoaib Bashir was overjoyed with his selection for the Indian tour and promised to continue training hard to play at the top level, alongside acknowledging that he still has a lot to work on in his game.
“It’s been a mad, mad journey, 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,” Shoaib Bashir said.
Shoaib Bashir was called up after impressing England selectors during their recent training camp in the United Arab Emirates and the spinners are expected to play a key role for the side in the five-test series since the conditions in India would favour them.
ENGLAND SQUAD FOR INDIA TESTS 2024
Ben Stokes, 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.