After a defeat in the first Test, Team India is hunting for their first win in the five-Test series against England. In the first Test, England defeated India by 28 runs. But before heading to the first Test match, England raised a concern regarding youngster Shoaib Bashir’s visa problem. After the problem was solved, he was named in the playing XI for the second Test match. But how did he come to the spotlight? In this article, we will explore how a WhatsApp forward changed his life.
Impression of the Young Bowler:
Shoaib Bashir is a talented youngster on the England side, to amazed the selectors with his cricket excellence at such a young age. Approximately six and a half months ago, Shoaib Bashir, a 19-year-old cricketer, marked his debut for Somerset in a County Championship match against Essex. Despite a challenging start with only one wicket in 49 overs, Bashir’s unique off-spin style caught the attention of England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes.
Bashir’s distinctive run-up and action, different from traditional off-spinners, impressed Stokes during the first over. Instead of a gradual approach, Bashir swiftly moved into his stride, leveraging his tall stature to deliver the ball from a considerable height. This unusual technique created a deceptive effect on the batsmen, notably demonstrated when he outplayed the legendary cricketer Alastair Cook twice in his first over.
Despite Cook’s subsequent outstanding performance with a score of 128, Stokes recognized the potential in Bashir’s deliveries and saw promise in those challenging moments faced by Cook. Bashir’s initial statistics might not have been remarkable, but his unconventional style left a lasting impression on the England Test captain.
The WhatsApp Forward:
The official Somerset account shared a video showcasing Shoaib Bashir’s remarkable bowling performance against the seasoned Alastair Cook, who is widely regarded as an excellent player against spin. Witnessing Cook being outplayed twice in Bashir’s over, Stokes promptly shared the video on a WhatsApp group that included head coach Brendon McCullum and ECB manager Rob Key. This action by Stokes highlighted Bashir’s potential and paved the way for further recognition and consideration for national team selection.
While talking about this, Ben Stokes talked about Bashir’s excellence and his selection in the India tour. He said, “To be perfectly honest, Abu Dhabi was the first real live look I got at Bash, The first time I saw him was on Twitter. I think the County Championship [account] put a little clip together of him bowling against Sir Alastair. I’m in a WhatsApp group with Keysy and Baz. I actually did forward the clip on and said, ‘Have a look at this, this could be something we could work with on our India tour.”
Later he added, “I just saw something. The height he bowled from, it was very obvious that he put a lot of action, a lot of revolutions on the ball. It was something I looked at and thought, this could be pretty good for India. I’ve played a lot of games out here. As a batter, you know what is hard to face, especially from a spin point of view.”
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
