IND vs ENG: Shoaib Bashir In Contention For 2nd Test As England Ponder Playing All-Spin Attack In Vizag

Shoaib Bashir is likely to make his debut as England plan on an all-spin attack for the second Test against India, starting on Friday (February 2) at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Vizag.

After tasting victory in the first Test in Hyderabad thanks to their debutant spinner Tom Hartley's 7-wicket spell, England think-tank are exploring the option of a spin-only attack in Visakhapatnam as another turning surface is likley to be used for the second Test.

Bashir who missed out on the first Test due to visa issues linked up with the England team in Hyderabad and arrived in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday (January 30) ahead of the second Test.

The England management expressed a possibility of Bashir featuring in the second Test because they feel his attributes are suited according to the Indian conditions.

"Bash, he was obviously with us during our camp in Abu Dhabi and he really impressed with his skillset. He fitted in seamlessly within the group and he's a guy who's got an immense amount of enthusiasm, albeit at a young age and pretty limited in his first-class experience," McCullum told SENZ radio as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"Like Tom Hartley, he was a guy who we looked at and we thought he's got some skills which could assist us in these conditions. The visa situation, that's just life, right? Sometimes that happens and everyone was doing everything that they could to try and resolve the situation. There's just some red tape you've got to cut through at times," he added.

While Bashir is avaialble, head coach McCullum feels that the wicket will play an important role in the selection of the young spinner, but also added that England could play an all-spin attack.

"He (Bashir) comes into calculations for the next Test match. If the wickets continue to spin as much as what we saw in the first Test as the series goes on. Look, we won't be afraid to play all spinners, or a balance of what we've got," McCullum said.

McCullum hailed the team's decision to stick with Tom Hartley in the first Test. The 24-year-old scalped seven wickets in the second innings to guide England to victory.

Can England play an all-spin attack in Vizag?

Well, they do have the options with Hartley, Bashir, Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and also Joe Root, who is no mug with the ball on such surfaces. However, with skipper Ben Stokes unlikely to bowl in the Test, it seems pretty unlikely that England would not pick a pacer.

England opted for Mark Wood over veteran James Anderson as the lone-pacer in the first Test. But the quick did not have much impact throughout the Test. So, England is likely to call up Anderson as the lone seamer in the second Test.

England may also play Bashir in the playing 11 in place of leg spinner Rehan Ahmed, who looked off-colour in the whole Hyderabad Test. Leach also suffered an injury in the series opener, but is likely to feature in the second Test as he bowled with a strapping on his knee in second innings.