Image Credit- AP
Shoaib Bashir could make his England debut in Friday’s
second Test match in Visakhapatnam, according to Brendon McCullum, who has also
hinted that his team may field an all-spin attack at some point during the
five-match series in India.
After a protracted delay in his visa processing, which
prevented him from travelling directly to India from England’s training camp in
Abu Dhabi, Bashir rejoined the team in Hyderabad on Sunday. Despite his meagre
first-class record of 10 wickets in six games, England’s management thinks his
skills could work in India.
Jack Leach’s availability for the second Test was
still in question when the visiting team landed in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. He
had been sidelined for a brief period of time in Hyderabad due to a severely
damaged knee. However, it’s not out of the question that England might use all
four of their spinners at once if Leach passes fitness and the ACA-VDCA
ground’s surface appears dry.
During their turnaround 28-run victory in Hyderabad,
England chose Mark Wood as their lone seamer. He had little effect in either
innings, bowling 25 overs without picking up a wicket. And although Ollie
Robinson, Gus Atkinson, and James Anderson will all play a role eventually,
McCullum hinted that England would enter a Test match without a seam option.
“Bash, he was obviously with us during our camp
in Abu Dhabi and he really impressed with his skillset,” McCullum told
SENZ radio. “He fitted in seamlessly within the group and he’s a guy who’s
got an immense amount of enthusiasm, albeit at a young age and pretty limited
in his first-class experience.
“Like Tom Hartley, he was a guy who we looked at
and we thought he’s got some skills which could assist us in these conditions.
The visa situation, that’s just life, right? Sometimes that happens and
everyone was doing everything that they could to try and resolve the situation.
There’s just some red tape you’ve got to cut through at times.
“When he arrived, boys gave him a huge cheer and
he got to witness something pretty special with the fellas bowling us to a Test
win. He comes into calculations for the next Test match. If the wickets
continue to spin as much as what we saw in the first Test as the series goes
on, look, we won’t be afraid to play all spinners, or a balance of what we’ve
got.”