Bashir delivers promising performance on debut after visa ‘hassle’

Shoaib Bashir put visa issues aside before taking two wickets, including India captain Rohit Sharma, on the opening day of the second Test

On his Test debut against India in Visakhapatnam on Friday, Shoaib Bashir wore number 67 on his back. The reason is strange, but sweet. When representing England Lions he was told that 13, his favourite number, was not available so decided that 67 was the next best thing, given six plus seven makes 13.
In years to come, though, if he enjoys a long and distinguished international career, wearing 67 might double as a neat reminder of exactly what his first-class average was when he made his debut, and what a remarkable selection punt he was.
On a flat first day pitch, Bashir was at the heart of an encouraging England performance. He picked up the first, and biggest, wicket, that of Rohit Sharma for 14, and another as England surged back in the final session. He was Ben Stokes’s banker, bowling more overs than any other bowler, 28. Almost all of them were tidy, and he finished with figures of two for 100.
Bashir’s ascent has been extraordinary. He did not make his Championship debut until last summer, when he was turning out for Taunton Deane CC. Nine months before that, he had been forced to head west to get a professional gig, having been released by Surrey and not made the grade with Middlesex or Berkshire seconds. As he observed at the close of play, he “could have gone to uni”, and perhaps been lost to the game. Now he has dismissed Sharma in a Test match, caught classically at leg-slip.
If Bashir’s longer term journey has been rocky, so has his passage to India this year. His Pakistani heritage saw his visa application delayed, and he was forced to remain in Abu Dhabi with only Stuart Hooper, England’s new cricket operations manager who he would never have met until a few days before. Eventually, a trip to London followed to finalise his visa.
Bashir took it in his stride, phlegmatically describing the situation as a “hassle”, adding that he was “pretty chilled”. Such a philosophical outlook on what was surely a difficult situation to get through – suddenly being thrust into the public eye for reasons way beyond his control – is one of the reasons England have taken such a shining to him. It is the perfect temperament for a spinner, too.
There has never been a better time to debut for England, and his team-mates have rallied round Bashir this week, readying him for the occasion. When he arrive in the dressing room in Hyderabad, straight of the plane from London, the whole squad cheered. In the team hotel on Thursday evening, Bashir could be seen dining with Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed, discussing all things spin and the big day ahead. Leach, who has been raving about Bashir to anyone who would listen since the youngster became his Somerset colleague in the second half of 2022, presented his cap the morning after, before Stokes gave a team-talk that focused on the debutant.
Stokes reminded Bashir that all his colleagues were as nervous as he was, that that was a natural feeling, and to take his time. Bashir also credited Joe Root and James Anderson, who have played more than 300 Tests between them, for making him feel at ease on the field. Bashir took the occasion in. After Leach’s speech, Bashir glanced upwards, and thanked god. When he took his first wicket, he did the same.
For all that they have access to deep data now, this was the ultimate hunch selection. England saw something in Bashir – 25 balls at Sir Alastair Cook on social media. Right now, it looks a smart call.
19-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has looked very assured on first-class debutHe’s bowled beautifully to Sir Alastair Cook: here’s all 25 balls of their morning contest#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/WWvkg5iLOn
They wanted someone to bowl with control in Leach’s absence, and he gave them that. There were flourishes, too, as he changed the angle and pace of his run-up like Ravichandran Ashwin does, and varied his pace considerably too. In his first spell, which started in the 12th over, he bowled both quicker than 60mph and slower than 50mph. The changes of pace were not easy to pick, with his frame – he is a willowy 6ft 4in and releases the ball from 2.35 metres – perhaps helping. There was a smartness to his bowling, as he slowed the game down and brought the field up, sensing a moment in the game and an opportunity for a bit of theatre, when the local hero KS Bharat came in late in the day. Bharat could not handle the pressure, cutting Ahmed to Bashir at point.
On the evidence of Bashir’s first day on the job, that average surely will not stay as high as 67 for long.