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Since making his Test debut for England against India in Vizag last year, Shoaib Bashir has dismissed 68 batters in 19 matches played so far.
Shoaib Bashir has dismissed 68 batters in 19 Tests played so far. (Picture Credit: AP)
Shoaib Bashir was England’s first-choice spin bowler in the ongoing five-match Test series against India. The 21-year-old spinner, who made his Test debut for Poms against India in Visakhapatnam last year, dismissed a total of 10 Indian batters in the first three matches but was ruled out of the last two matches after suffering a finger injury at Lord’s.
After Bashir was ruled out, England recalled Liam Dawson to the Test squad after more than eight years and he even got a chance to play at Old Trafford. In his first red-ball match for the English team since 2017, Dawson has however only able to take one wicket.
England had an option to recall Jack Leach as well but their selectors choose otherwise. But according to legendary Australian spinner Nathan Lyon, the 34-year-old Leach is England’s best bet in the Ashes tour later this year.
“In my eyes, Jack Leach is still their best spinner,” Lyon was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
“It is a massive role, and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven’t done it in the past in these conditions,” Lyon said of spin bowling in Australia.
“But I’m not going to let my secrets out so they come out and perform well out here. Our guys know how to play spin really well in this country. That’s probably what helped me produce my skill to where it is at the moment. I know I’ll keep trying getting better, and we’ll see how their spinners go,” he said.
“I obviously played with Jimmy Anderson last year at Lancashire, and they basically said that they’re picking Bashir to do what I do. So I took a little bit of pride out of Jimmy respecting a little bit of what I’ve been able to do in my career. But Bashir has been okay,” he said.
England are also grooming Jacob Bethell, a batsman who bowls left-arm spin. “Jacob Bethell is playing this Test match (tonight at The Oval) and he looks like he’ll take up the spin bowling from Liam Dawson,” he added.
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