Who is Shoaib Bashir? All you need to know about uncapped spinner included in England squad for India test tour

England have picked 4 spinners in their 16-member squad including uncapped Shoaib Bashir.

England have surprised everyone by including a young 20-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in the 16-member squad for the upcoming tour of India. England will be traveling to India for five-match test series starting on 25th January, 2023. Along with Bashir, England have added two more uncapped players to the squad. Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and pacer Gus Atkinson also have been added to the squad along with uncapped Bashir. 

James Anderson will also be travelling to India for the test series and it will be interesting to see how England team management approaches his presence in the squad and also in the playing XI. England’s squad selection is done keeping the spin factor in their mind. In recent times, Indian wickets have produced several low-scoring tussles due to the rank turners wicket and to counter this, England have brought in two Asian-origin spinners along with Tom Hartley and Jack Leach. 

Who is Shoaib Bashir?

Shoaib Bashir is just 20-year-old and hugely inexperienced in English domestic circuit. Bashir impressed selectors in England’s recent training camp that took place in UAE. England’s former off-spinner Graeme Swann was also present in the camp. Bashir has impressed everyone in English camp with his variations as an off-spinner. He has a quick arm movement in his bowling action that gives batters a little less time than expected from an off-spinner. 

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir started his cricket career playing for Guildford Cricket Club in Surrey. He was born and brought up in Surrey County but at a very young age, Somerset County recognised his talent and included him in their camp. Bashir was given a contract by Somerset County in October 2022. He made his debut for Somerset in a T20 game against their arch-rivals Hampshire. Just four days later he went on to make his first-class debut against Essex. 

Shoaib Bashir has played only six first-class games for Somerset in the recently concluded county season and picked up only 10 wickets. He went wicketless in a few innings as well. Bashir has played 7 List-A games and picked up only 3 wickets. In the T20 format, Bashir has played 5 games and has taken 4 wickets. England picked four spinners for their upcoming tour of India. Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Bashir are the four spinners in the 16-member team. 

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