The five-match Test series between India and England is set to commence on January 25 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadum in Hyderabad. Ahead of the series openers, it has been confirmed that Harry Brook will miss all the five matches while India's Virat Kohli is set to miss the first two games due to personal reasons. Meanwhile, England arrived in India on Sunday (January 21) but they were without their young spinner Shoaib Bashir.
The cricketer, it is understood, is still stuck in the UAE where England had a long camp preparing for the much-awaited Test series against India. For the unversed, Bashir was a shock call-up to England's Test squad for the India tour and now he is in Abu Dhabi with delay in his paper work that has led to his arrival in India getting delayed. According to ESPNCricinfo, England head coach Brendon McCullum stated that the matter has been escalated and hoped that Bashir will join the team soon.
Moreover, he also confirmed that the youngster will remain available for the selection despite his late arrival to the country. "Bash will join us hopefully tomorrow as well. He's got a couple of issues with his visa coming through. We're confident on the back of the help from the BCCI and the Indian government that will sort itself out pretty quickly as well.
"Things take time, don't they? Everyone is doing what they can. It's a process we need to go through. We're pretty confident that we're close. The time that Bash had with the squad over in Abu Dhabi, where he fitted in seamlessly, will serve him greatly. We've also got a little bit of support out there for him so he's not on his own. We're hoping the news will come through today that his visa has been approved, then we'll get him to sink his teeth into this series," McCullum said.
Meanwhile, England have drafted in Dan Lawrence as replacement for Harry Brook in their 16-member squad for the Test series.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Dan Lawrence
