Shoaib Bashir's return to the England Test side brought big success for the off-spinner as the 20-year-old picked up his maiden Test fifer in the IND vs ENG 4th Test in Ranchi. Bashir, who was fast-tracked into the England side for the ongoing series, rattled the Indian line-up in the first innings as he removed key batters in the Indian line-up. He has now entered into the record books after his five-wicket haul in the ongoing game.
Bashir has become the second youngest England player to pick up a five-wicket haul and has surpassed even the likes of James Anderson on this list. At 20y and 135d, Bashir's 5/119 makes him over 150 days younger than Anderson, who was 20y and 298d old when he took a fifer against Zimbabwe in 2003 which was also his debut Test.
Youngest England players to pick Test fifers:
1 - Rehan Ahmed - 18y 128d old, Figures: 5/48 vs Pak in Karachi 2022
2 - Shoaib Bashir - 20y 135d old, Figures: 5/119 vs Ind in Ranchi 2024
3 - Bill Voce - 20y 182d old, Figures: 7/70 vs WI in Port of Spain 1930
4 - James Anderson - 20y 298d old, Figures: 5/73 vs Zim at Lord's 2003
Bashir was brought into the England setup after playing just seven first-class matches. England test skipper Ben Stokes spotted him on social media bowling an impressive spell to Sir Alastair Cook on his first-class debut for Somerset against Essex. Stokes forwarded the viral clip to managing director Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum and said that they could work on him for the India tour.
"To be perfectly honest, Abu Dhabi was the first real live look I got at Bash," Stokes said. "The first time I saw him was on Twitter. I think the County Championship (account) put a little clip together of him bowling against Sir Alastair," Stokes told ESPNcricinfo.
"I'm in a WhatsApp group with Keysy (Rob Key) and Baz (Brendon McCullum). I actually did forward the clip on and said, 'have a look at this, this could be something we could work with on our India tour' and it just progressed from there. He got selected on the Lions tour and obviously, the coaches on that tour fed everything back to us," he added.
Bashir faced delay issues with his visa for arrival in India and could not reach the South Asian nation in time for the 1st Test but played in the second game. He was not picked for the third Test but then made his way back into the English side for the 4th Test.
