England youngster Shoaib Bashir is likely to make his Test debut in the second Test against India, which is set to take place on Feb 2 at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. He might replace Jack Leach, who is likely to be out due to a knee injury.
Jack Leach suffered an injury to his left knee while fielding in the first Test in Hyderabad. However, he still managed to bowl as England secured a historic win. Ahead of the second test, the spinner opted out of England’s practice session on Wednesday. He is likely to miss the second Test, paving the way for Shoaib Bashir’s debut.
“He’s a tough cookie,” England opener Zak Crawley told BBC Sport about Jack Leach.
“You can never write him off. He had a sore knee in the last game and we’ll see how he pulls up. At the moment he’s still in contention to play. Obviously, it would be a shame for Leachy to miss out, he’s a fantastic bowler, but we’ve got good depth. We’ve got a good spin attack and good seamers to back them up,” he added.
He would go well: Zak Crawley
Shoaib Bashir joined the England squad during the first Test against India. He had returned back to the UK to resolve his delayed visa issue. He debuted for Somerset last summer and has taken 10 wickets in six first-class matches. England batter Zak Crawley believes that Bashir will do well if given a chance in the ongoing series. He said,
“He’s a great kid. He’s got a lot about him. He knows what he is trying to do with his bowling and he backs himself. I like that and feel like if he got his chance in this series he would go well.”
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