by Somerset rookie off-spinner Shoaib Bashir’s “excellent” potential has earned him a call-up for England’s Test tour of India in the new year.
Bashir, 20, has just 10 first-class wickets at an average of 67 wickets in his six-match career, but is one of three uncapped players in the squad, along with Lancashire left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and Surrey quick Gus Atkinson in the squad. of 16 for the five-Test tour.
Ben Foakes has been recalled to the squad but, according to manager Rob Key, no decision has yet been made whether the Surrey man or Jonny Bairstow will keep wicket. Vice-captain Ollie Pope and first-choice spinner Jack Leach return from long-term injury.
Ben Stokes is chosen to lead the squad and is expected to be fit after undergoing surgery on his chronic left knee recently. Key confirmed that Stokes was not expected to bowl in India.
Bashir and Hartley join Leach and Rehan Ahmed in Arsenal’s strong back four, while Joe Root will provide a part-time option. Both Bashir and Hartley, who are 24 and have played two ODIs, are tall spinners, perhaps reflecting England’s desire to copy the new ball spin that Axar Patel used against them on their last visit to India in 2021. However, it is a tall order. on two modest records (Hartley’s average is 36.6, but he is a handy bat at No. 8). Both men were at the England Lions training camp in the UAE last month.
Of Bashir, Key said: “I saw him last summer. We have this depth app and every now and then you see a few balls, and you see that there’s something different, or it looks special. We saw him in county cricket, the way he bowled the ball, and then you see the potential, then you try to find out about his character. Then we had it on the Lions. Brendon and I flew out to the Lions camp for a week and a bit, and we tried to put them in conditions similar to what we would see.
“Someone like Bashir – his ceiling is really high. Life is always about how good someone is, not how bad the bad is. He is very raw, he wants experience as much as anything else, although we will not be afraid to play him if necessary. This is the beginning of his journey, where we hope to see a world-class spinner in the future.
“He’s got one of the highest release points in the game, he looks – everything you see in a classic spinner, a bit of real craft, a bit of glee and decent character too.
“He’s someone who spins the ball, a high release point. When we look at him in the UAE, he is already in his youth he can bowl slower with a quick arm, he has good craft and I think he is very exciting. And you want to do things differently from what we’ve done before. I think we’ve probably had one top-class spinner since pitches were invented and that was probably Graeme Swann.
“That’s probably what we’re trying to do with the Lions a little bit, you’re trying to give these guys a different experience and that’s what playing in England can’t do for whatever reasons, all those conditions , so we’re hoping we’re putting him on the road to someone who could be world class, he’s certainly got the ability.”
They are chosen to replace former Hampshire player Liam Dawson and Surrey player Will Jacks, who will play in the short-lived SA20 tournament in South Africa. Liam Livingstone has also not been selected, having made his Test debut as a final a year ago, while Moeen Ali retired again at the end of the Ashes.
Key confirmed that neither Jacks nor Dawson were available for the series, but said that the style of bowling and the desire of both to play cricket without carrying drinks helped.
“Will Jacks – you are making a decision, is it better for them to go around carrying liquor around India or can they go and play franchise cricket when we have World T20 coming up,” said Key.
“Liam Dawson is probably not someone who wants to go around India as the 15th or 16th man – if he’s going to play and if he’s going to feature, he’s going to want to do that, but if he’s not, I don’t think so. high on his agenda is basically going as a replacement bowler.
“We also think about the bowling style of someone like Hartley – our bet is that he’s going to be a real handful out there and you’ve obviously got Jack Leach leading the attack with the ball.
“For some time now we have been trying to identify the spinners who we think will be very useful in India. Someone like Tom Hartley for example. We’ve been watching him for a while, he’s been on the Lions for a few years. Not conditions you come across in England at all.
“You have to ignore what’s happened in county cricket, because it’s a very different style of bowling, and try to work out who the best players are going to be.”
There are four seamers in the squad, with James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Atkinson – who made both debuts in both white-ball formats this year – all selected. Josh Tongue was ruled out with a pectoral injury. There will also be a Lions tour of England in January, which could force the likes of Brydon Carse into the Test.
Chris Woakes is not selected despite being England’s Ashes man of the series, with his poor overseas record counting against him. Instead, he will play T20 in the UAE at the ILT20.
