IND vs ENG: Shoaib Bashir to debut as England name playing XI for the second test in Vishakhapatnam

England are leading the the IND vs ENG five-match test series 1-0.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced England team’s playing XI for the upcoming second test against India. This encounter will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam from February 2nd onwards.

England have made two changes to their playing XI with Shoaib Bashir, the 20-year-old Somerset off-spinner is set to make his England test debut. He will be replacing Jack Leach in the playing XI from Hyderabad test. Leach suffered a knee injury while fielding on the first day of the first test match.

Shoaib Bashir was named in England’s squad for the five-match test series to India but missed the first test in Hyderabad due to visa issues. His visa was delayed due to his Pakistani heritage and he had to fly back to the UK from Abu Dhabi to get his passport stamped.

Bashir joined the squad mid-way through the first test last week and will slot in directly in the playing XI in place of Jack Leach. England will be going with four spinners including Bashir, Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Joe Root.

James Anderson to replace Mark Wood in England XI

On the other hand, England also brought in experienced pacer James Anderson into their XI, as he replaced Mark Wood who played as the lone pacer in Hyderabad test. Wood went wicket-less in the test match as spinners ruled the roost with Hartley taking nine wickets on his test debut including 7/62 in the second innings.

Rehan Ahmed, the legspinner, retains his place after a limited role in Hyderabad, having debuted in Karachi in December 2022, while Tom Hartley will play his second game.

England’s playing XI For Second Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, and James Anderson.

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