Graeme Swann has high hopes for England’s revamped spin quartet in the upcoming five-match Test series against India. Led by the seasoned Jack Leach, the spin department features three relatively inexperienced players – Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir.
England’s spin attack faced challenges during their previous 2021 tour of India, with Leach securing 18 wickets but lacking support from Moeen Ali and Dom Bess. In a display of England’s struggle, part-time option Joe Root had to step in and claim a five-wicket haul in Ahmedabad.
Even though England’s spinners are not very experienced, they bring a lot of variety to the team. Hartley and Bashir have done well in local matches, and Rehan, who started playing for England in late 2022, has been considered for a while.
Swann, who mentored these spinners during a recent camp in Dubai with the England Lions, believes they have the potential to defeat any team globally, especially on pitches favoring spin.
“They can bowl, put it that way, and the guys that are on that trip in India, if conditions suit and they get the chance and they can handle the pressure of it, are genuinely exciting.”
“Hartley and Bashir could be genuinely exciting on the sort of wickets that are going to be produced by India, or you think are going to be produced,” Swann said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
“They’ve been picked very much for that purpose and they could be brilliant. We saw things in Abu Dhabi that genuinely had me grinning like a Cheshire Cat and I’m very excited.”
“They’re complete unknowns to the rest of the world so should they get the chance on the sort of pitch that we played India on last time in Ahmedabad, they could easily roll through any batting line-up in the world. I think it’s very exciting,” the former England spinner added.
In England’s last visit to India, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel dominated, taking a total of 59 wickets. Although England initially led the series after winning the first Test in Chennai, they faced challenges in the subsequent matches, culminating in a two-day pink-ball frenzy in Ahmedabad.
“Such is the game and such is the state of English spin over the last few years” – Swann comments on the spin department’s lack of experience
Tom Hartley began his international career with a single ODI, while Shoaib Bashir, a somewhat unexpected choice, debuted in June 2023 and has only six first-class appearances. Rehan Ahmed, considered the second-most senior spinner, has played just 13 first-class matches in his career.
“They’ve not got the years of experience that spinners used to have, or used to be a prerequisite of getting in the England team, you had to have done it for years and years. Such is the game and such is the state of English spin over the last few years that they’ve just not got it,” Swann said.
The first Test of England’s tour in India kicks off at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on January 25.
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