England player Shoaib Bashir has opened up about his visa issues that forced him to miss the first Test against India. He said that he was a big mess but that he has made his debut with the team and that is what matters most to him.
While the entire England contingent was in India a few days before the Test series, Shoaib Bashir did not receive his visa. The spinner did not receive the documents on time and therefore missed the first match in Hyderabad, which the visitors won by 28 runs.
However, his visa issue was resolved and he arrived in India, making his debut for the team in England in the ongoing second Test. The spinner soon made an impact as he removed Indian captain Rohit Sharma for 14 runs to take his first wicket in international cricket.
Shoaib Bashir made a huge impact in the match on day 1 and helped England come out on top. The spinner picked two wickets and apart from Rohit Sharma, he also removed Axar Patel. The all-rounder looked solid but Bashir removed him with a blow of his stumps.
It was a special day for Shoaib Bashir and he believes getting Rohit Sharma out made his debut even more special. While talking about his visa problems, he thanked the BCCI and the ECB for sorting it out and said that he was frozen during that time. Speaking to reporters, he explained:
“It has been a very special day, very special. Because of everything I’ve been through in the last two or three years, it made it even more special. Getting Rohit Sharma, my first wicket, feels amazing. He is a quality player, one of the best in the world and also a great spin player.
“Without a doubt, I always knew I would get the visa. It was a bit complicated, but we’re here, I made my debut and that’s the only thing that matters. To be fair, it was pretty chilly. He knew it would be fixed, so thanks to the ECB and the BCCI for sorting it out quite quickly.”
I could have been a little more consistent with my lines – Shoaib Bashir
Shoaib Bashir was not very impressed with his Day 1 performance but said he looked back thinking he had surpassed Rohit Sharma. He also spoke about the team’s performance that day and stated:
“I could have been a little more consistent with my lines, but I’m going to look back on this day and think about getting Rohit Sharma out, I think that’s all that really matters. Jimmy’s got the 613 cap, I’m the 713 cap, so There are a hundred matches between us.
“He’s an incredible guy, the experience is crazy and having Rooty there also helps a lot. I think we did well to get them down six towards the end of the day. Going forward, we want to get a couple of early breakthroughs (and) then start hitting.”
At Stumps on Day 1, India were 336/6 with Yashasvi Jaiswal batting 179* along with Ravichandran Ashwin on 5*.