IND vs ENG: Michael Vaughan draws comparison between Ravi Ashwin and Shoaib Bashir

Shoaib Bashir has picked up 12 wickets while Ravi Ashwin has scalped 17 wickets in five-match test series till now.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has heaped praise on young England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, comparing him to the legendary Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin. This big statement came after England’s off-spinner Bashir’s impressive performance in the recently concluded fourth test match in Ranchi of the ongoing five-match series between Rohit Sharma-led India and Ben Stokes-led England.

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir‘s journey to India was a bit of a climax, as visa issues saw him return to England initially, which caused him to miss the opening test in Hyderabad. After fixing visa issues, the 20-year-old English player came to India and made his test debut in the second test match in Vizag, where he picked up four wickets (three in the first innings and one wicket in the second innings) in the match.

After being benched for the third test in Rajkot, Bashir once again returned to the playing XI in the fourth test match in Ranchi. Despite his heroics, Ben Stokes-led England couldn’t halt India’s charge and succumbed to a narrow five-wicket defeat in Ranchi. The loss handed Rohit Sharma-led India an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series with one match left to play in Dharamsala, starting from March 7th.

After Shoaib Bashir’s spirited performance in the Ranchi test, many former cricketers praised England’s off-spinner whereas former England skipper Vaughan believes that the spark that Bashir has shown is something that England cricket should celebrate despite their negative results.

“It’s been a fantastic week for English cricket. One of the great weeks, celebrating another world-class superstar that we’ve unearthed, Shoaib Bashir. That’s what we’re celebrating. Second Test match, eight wickets, he’s the new Ravi Ashwin, and we’ve unearthed him. So, we’re celebrating a new superstar in English cricket,” Vaughan told Club Prairie Fire’s YouTube channel.

I expect England to win: Michael Vaughan optimistic ahead of fifth test vs India

Ahead of the fifth test match in Dharamsala, former England cricketer Michael Vaughan said that the competition will be intense despite India having sealed an unbeatable lead. However, Vaughan also expects that England will win the last test match.

“I think it’s going to be a fresh one in Dharamsala, so I expect England to win. They’ve been the better team in the series, as they were in the Ashes. If you go session by session, England have looked a better team. I’m saying looked a better team, but we don’t play series now to win them,” Vaughan added.

Both India and England will face each other in the final test match in Dharamsala, starting on March 7. Veteran Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been added to the squad for the series finale after being given rest in the Ranchi match due to workload management. While middle-order batter KL Rahul will not be part of the fifth test as he is yet to recover from the injury he sustained during the Hyderabad test.

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