England’s 20-year-old off-spinner, Shoaib Bashir made headlines on his Test debut in Visakhapatnam, where he picked up a special scalp – none other than the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. Bashir, despite having a troublesome journey to India due to visa delays, shared his feelings that if someone had predicted this two years ago, he would have laughed as well.
“If you were to tell me that two years ago, I would laugh. It was a very special moment receiving my Test cap and for me to get Rohit Sharma as my first wicket was very, very special,” Bashir told talkSPORT. “I’m just so grateful to God and my family. They’ve supported me through thick and thin. I had a lot of ups and downs in my journey, so I just want to thank them as well.”
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However, Bashir’s visa issue didn’t allow him to arrive in India early and he missed the first Test in Hyderabad. But, despite the hurdles, he maintained a positive approach and said that he always knew he would get the visa. He also lauded his teammates for playing well on a challenging pitch as well.
“I always knew I’d get the visa. I did have a few troubles with it, but look, we’re here now and I got to make my debut and it’s such a special day. It makes it more memorable, yeah. I had a bit of trouble, bit of hassle with it but to come out to India now and make my Test debut is unbelievable. It was a tough pitch to bowl on. It didn’t offer too much, but I thought the way the boys went about it was awesome for us to pick up six wickets… we’ll get again tomorrow, hopefully, get a breakthrough and get batting out there,” he added.
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“He had some nice words to say. Me and him get on really well. We’re very tight and he’s the one that saw me on the scene when I was playing for Somerset 2s. He was just talking about how proud everyone is of me, and my family and my journey. It was just so special receiving it from him as well,” Shoaib Bashir concluded.
