England Name Playing 11 For 2nd Test Vs India In Vizag; Ben Stokes Gives Debut To Shoaib Bashir As James Anderson Comes In Place Of Mark Wood

Shoaib Bashir, 20, is of Pakistani descent and will play his first Test in Visakhapatnam from February 2 vs India. Anderson has also come back into the England 11.

Shoaib Bashir. (Image: X)

In what is no surprise, Ben Stokes, England captain, named the team to take on India in the second Test match at Vizag which includes the 20-year-old off-break bowler Shoaib Bashir. England have made two changes with Shoaib Bashir replacing Jack Leach who has been ruled out with a knee injury. Veteran pacer James Anderson comes in for Mark Wood. India are yet to announce their playing 11 as they are likely to do the same at the toss. England are leading the five-match series 1-0 after registering a brilliant come-from-behind victory in Hyderabad to shock the home team.

Bashir's selection means England are going with the same strategy of 3 spinners  - Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed - and one part-timer in Joe Root, one pacer in form of Anderson into the 2nd Test. This bowling combination worked wonders for 'brave' England in the first Test as Hartley produced a match-winning show in Hyderabad to shock India in the 2nd innings, finishing with a seven-wicket haul. 

Bashir is just 20 and has played just 6 first-class matches. Still, he was fast-tracked into the national side because his England captain wanted him. Stokes had seen a clip of Bashir on X (formerly) Twitter. It was of him bowling to England batting great Alastair Cook in the County Cricket Championship match. His bowling action, delivery stride, and spin impressed Stokes. Bashir was able to beat Cook on some occasions as well. The Somerset cricket does not have impressive stats to show but Stokes could see a potential in him to do wonders on the tour of India.

The young off-break bowler was picked for England Lions and he did well. Soon, he was named in the England squad that was going to India for five Tests. There were visa issues but Bashir would want to bury all of that in the past and approach the debut with a new energy. 

Anderson has come in for Wood and it will be interesting to see how the legendary fast bowler goes in dry conditions of Vizag. He will be largely focussing on reverse-swinging the ball and bowling in tandem with the spinners, giving them ample support from the other end. 

ENG Playing 11 for 2nd Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson