Visakhapatnam: England’s debutant off-spinner Shoaib Bashir said getting the scalp of India captain Rohit Sharma as his first Test wicket on Day One of the second Test at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here on Friday felt ‘very, very awesome’.
In his fourth over, Bashir, 20, had Rohit edge a turning ball to backward square-leg while trying to glance, giving the youngster his first Test wicket. Before the end of the day’s play, Bashir had another success when Axar Patel cut straight to point as India reached 336/6 at stumps, with his figures reading as 2-100.
“If you were to tell me that two years ago, I would laugh. To have made my debut here is very special. It’s something you dream of as a kid, so I am so grateful. It was a very special moment receiving my Test cap and for me to get Rohit Sharma as my first wicket was very, very awesome.”
“He’s a great player of spin as well and that (dismissing him) was my highlight. 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,” said Bashir to talkSPORT at the end of the day’s play.
Asked to assess his first day as a Test cricketer, Bashir said, “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.”
Bashir arrived in India on the fourth day of the first Test in Hyderabad, after visa issues due to his Pakistani heritage saw him become the only member of the touring team to not receive a visa in time for the series.
As a result, he was stuck in Abu Dhabi, the venue for the visitors’ pre-series camp, and had to fly back to London to get his visa, which made him unavailable for selection for the series opener.
“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, a bit of hassle with it but to come out to India now and make my Test debut is unbelievable,” he added.
Jack Leach, his teammate at County side Somerset who missed the second Test due to a left knee injury, presented him with his Test cap on the morning of the match. “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,” concluded Bashir.
–IANS