"Very, very special" - Shoaib Bashir on dismissing Rohit Sharma for his first Test wicket in IND vs ENG 2nd match
England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has revealed that getting Indian captain Rohit Sharma as his maiden Test scalp on Day 1 in Vizag turned out to be a very special moment for him. The 20-year-old thanked the Almighty and his family for making him what he is today, continuing to relish the moment.
With left-arm spinner Jack Leach injured, the tourists handed Bashir a Test debut. The youngster took the first wicket of the day, striking in his fourth over in the format as Rohit turned one to leg slip. Ollie Pope took an excellent catch as the wicket was the finger spinner's 11th in first-class cricket.
Speaking to Talk Sport after the day's play, Bashir recalled the moment, claiming:
"If you were to tell me that two years ago, I would laugh. It was a very special moment receiving my Test cap and for me to get Rohit Sharma as my first wicket was very, very special.
"He's a great player of spin as well. 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."
The Surrey-born cricketer felt the delay in getting the visa for India made his debut even more memorable. He said:
"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, bit of hassle with it but to come out to India now and make my Test debut is unbelievable."
The right-arm off-spinner got another one late in the day as Axar Patel cut one straight to backward point, with Rehan Ahmed taking a simple catch. He finished the day with figures of 28-0-100-2.
"It didn't offer too much" - Shoaib Bashir on Vizag track
With India finishing Day 1 at 336-6, Bashir felt England bowled exceedingly well on a docile surface, but reckons they will need to bowl out the hosts as early as possible. He 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."
Yashasvi Jaiswal sizzled for India as he finished the day unbeaten at 179; however, the other batters failed to make their starts count.