England Shoaib Bashir, the uncapped right-arm off-spinner who has received high praise from former England cricketers, was stuck in Abu Dhabi due to visa issues while the rest of his teammates and coaching staff flew to Hyderabad and began training for the fifth match Test series from January 25th.
According to reports, Shoaib Bashir was unable to board the flight there India along with the rest of the England team due to a delay in his visa paperwork. The youngster is currently waiting for the authorities’ communication to reach Hyderabad as soon as possible while the rest of the team is already on the ground for training.
Bashir is among the four spinners selected by England for the Test series Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley. Leach is the most experienced spinner among them, but there can be no doubt about the qualities of the other spinners.
Particularly Surrey-born spinner Shoaib Bashir, who experienced what it was like to train with the national team for the first time during England’s 11-day camp in Abu Dhabi. Although many doubt Bashir’s quality and efficiency, there are also positive voices around him.
His high release point and ability to turn the ball are consistently highlighted. Former left-arm off-spinner Monty Panesar even claimed that Indian batsmen favored him because of his line length and his skill in forcing the batsmen to pull them out of the crease and extend their arms to play shots would have to fight.
He also didn’t play many first-class matches, playing only 6 matches and picking 10 wickets with a bowling average of 3.30. However, the recent setback in visa issuance has raised concerns over his participation, but Brendon McCullum claimed that there is no need to panic as BCCI is working with the Indian government to get him to India as soon as possible.
“Bash (Bashir) will hopefully join us tomorrow too. He is having some problems applying for his visa. We are confident that with the help of the BCCI and the Indian government, the issue will also be resolved fairly quickly.” – said McCullum.
Brendon McCullum claims Shoaib Bashir has fitted in perfectly
While discussing Shoaib Bashir’s visa issue, head coach Brendon McCullum, whose Bazball philosophy is being tested for the first time in India, claimed that he was confident with what he saw from the 20-year-old off-spinner.
McCullum claimed that the time he spent training with the senior team in Abu Dhabi will bring him reward and also expressed his hope that Shoaib Bashir’s visa issue would be resolved quickly so that he could experience what a real international Test series is like feels.
“It’s a process we have to go through. We’re pretty confident we’re close. The time Bash spent with the team in Abu Dhabi, where he fitted in seamlessly, will be of great benefit to him. We have a little support for him out there so he’s not alone. We hope that the news will come today that his visa has been approved and then we will get him involved in this series.” – McCullum concluded.