Brendon McCullum might have teased the idea of playing an all-spin attack against India but that ploy will have to wait. Jack Leach, England’s most experienced spinner in the current squad, is unlikely for the second Test against Visakhapatnam.
The left-arm spinner, who banged his left knee in the outfield twice, and then aggravated the injury by bowling through it in the fourth innings, didn’t bowl in the practice session in Visakhapatnam two days out from the Test match. He was visibly limping and was seen receiving treatment on the sidelines of England’s training session.
England, though, now have at their disposal offspinner Shoaib Bashir, who arrived late in India owing to visa issues and as a result wasn’t available for selection in Hyderabad. McCullum has spoken about Bashir impressing the management during their team camp in the UAE.
“He’s a great kid, he’s got a lot about him,” Zak Crawley said of Bashir. “He knows what he is trying to do with his bowling, and he backs himself.
“I like that and feel like if he got his chance in this series he would go well.”
