The English cricket team will land in Indian shores with four spinners as part of their 16-member squad that includes three new faces for the grueling five-match Test series, starting January 25 in Hyderabad.
Shoaib Bashir, a 20-year-old off-spinner, is one of three uncapped players included along with left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and fast bowler Gus Atkinson, who have both represented England in limited-overs cricket.
Test skipper Ben Stokes, who underwent surgery on his left knee after England’s dismal World Cup campaign last month, was expectedly included in the squad. The Statesman understands Stokes’ inclusion is primarily as a batter, as he won’t be expected to be fully fit to bowl during the series.
The squad also saw the return of Ben Foakes after being dropped for the Ashes, while Jack Leach and Ollie Pope also were recalled after back and shoulder injuries during the English summer.
Besides the trio of Bashir, Hartley and Leach, the fourth spinner in England’s travelling party is leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who took seven wickets on his Test debut in Karachi last December. Meanwhile, Hartley and Bashir were part of the England squad that had trained in the United Arab Emirates last month.
Bashir’s inclusion in the England squad came as a surprise as the off-spinner made his professional debut in June after being signed by Somerset. He has so far taken 10 wickets in his six first-class matches but was the stand-out performer during the training camp in the UAE, where he claimed figures of 6 for 42 in a three-day fixture against Afghanistan’s A team.
Rob Key, England’s director of cricket, said Bashir’s modest first-class figures in domestic cricket isn’t the yardstick of his selection and rather believes he’s going to flourish in the upbeat environment fostered by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
“You want to see how the ball comes out of their hand – you’re going more to the art of selection, rather than the science of selection – and you back that environment that Stokes and McCullum have created with all the other players, to get the best out of these people. With Stokesy’s captaincy in particular, your bet is often that he’ll be the one who can get something out of these players. You just want to create an environment where you think they can thrive, which is no mean feat when you’re talking about a Test tour of India,” Key said.
Meanwhile, Gus Atkinson is the third uncapped player named in the squad. The pacer claimed 20 wickets in five County Championship matches last summer at an average of 20.20, helping Surrey win their second consecutive title.
Atkinson is expected to form a formidable combination with the likes of veteran James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood in the seam department against India.
England’s squad will travel to the UAE for a preparatory camp in mid-January and will arrive in India shortly before the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25.
England Test Squad for tour of India:
Ben Stokes (C), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (WK), Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.