Bashir shows plenty of promise

Ranchi: For those who are against the idea of doomscrolling, here’s a story. Ben Stokes was lounging about at home, scrolling through social media for nothing in particular, as one does, on June 11, 2023. There, he stumbled upon the sight of a spindly young Somerset off-spinner bowling to Essex/ England legend Alastair Cook.

Cook went on to hammer a century in that game, expectedly, but Stokes saw what Somerset’s social media account wanted to highlight. 

The tweet showed Shoaib Bashir beating Cook twice in the six balls they faced off in. And for some peculiar reason, Stokes was impressed with the debutant.  

The England skipper reckoned the 20-year-old with a high release point and quick arm rotation had something to him, something he could use in the months to come because off-spin has been India’s kryptonite for a while now.  

He forwarded the tweet to a WhatsApp group composed of head coach Brendon McCullum and England and Wales Cricket Board chief Rob Key. 

Below the tweet, Stokes wrote: “Have a look at this, this could be something we could work on India tour.” 

That ‘something we could work on’ turned out to be something India couldn’t work out during the fourth Test in Ranchi.

In his second Test since his four-wicket debut in Visakhapatnam at the start of this month, Bashir stood tall with the ball before performing the 'sajda' on the pitch after dismissing Kuldeep Yadav on Sunday morning. 

He had taken four wickets the day prior after sending down 32 overs. Thirty-one of those overs came unchanged from the Amitabh Choudhary Pavilion End.

Bashir's accuracy and uncompromising arm speed kept India guessing. He was favoured by Umpire’s Call a couple of times, but by and large, the young man with a boyish personality wouldn’t take his foot off. 

On Sunday, he didn’t look the same. Perhaps still tired from the longest unchanged spell since Graeme Swann’s 32 overs against New Zealand in 2013, Bashir was either too full or too short, but when he landed it right, Kuldeep’s bat couldn’t come down quick enough. Bowled em! 

“He has been excellent since he has come into the squad,” said Joe Root after the second day’s play. “The way he bowls is a good little insight into his character and personality. He is quite cheeky and great fun. There is clearly a huge amount of skill in what he does.

“For Stokes to put so much trust in such a young guy who has played so little Test cricket, and for him to step up. You could see that he (Bashir) was desperate to do his part and fill his role. It was great to see him get the rewards.”

It’s bizarre that someone so young and so raw would enter the fray when a whole host of quality off-spinners lay waiting in County cricket. Bashir had played a mere six first-class games before being slotted to play with the England Lions, and then he was fast-tracked to England’s preparatory camp in Abu Dhabi. 

They wanted to see if he could deliver in India. They were happy, but a tight visa process for those with Pakistani origins and incomplete paperwork delayed his visa. While the rest of his team-mates flew to India for the five-match series, Bashir returned to London to address the problem. 

Eventually, after submitting his passport to the Indian embassy for personal approval, he was cleared and joined the team on the fourth day of the opening Test in Hyderabad. 

His time came in Visakhapatnam. He looked promising. His time came in Ranchi. He looks like he’s the one for the future. 

It’s interesting that only earlier on Friday, Sarfaraz Khan, standing at short leg, shouted: “Isko kuch nahin aata hain. Hindi bhi (He knows nothing, not even Hindi).”

He knows a thing or two about off-spin. That’s for sure.