“You have to give huge amount of credit to selection panel”: Alastair Cook hails Bahir’s bowling in fourth Test against India

Former England skipper Alastair Cook appreciated spinner Shoaib Bashir after his strong performance on the second day of the fourth Test against India at JSCA International Stadium Complex on Saturday.

Bashir snapped four wickets in his spell of 32 overs while conceding 83 runs. Two wickets were grabbed by left-arm spinner Tom Hartley in his spell of 19 overs.

While Bashir has taken eight wickets in two matches, Hartley is the leading wicket-taker with 18 wickets in four matches, including a seven-wicket haul in the first match. Hartley is the leading wicket-taker in the series, outdoing the Indian spin stars Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

“You have to give huge amount of credit to the selection panel. They’ve picked a guy who has only played four first-class games to go on an England tour. They knew they needed tall spinners and they picked Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley. Whoever made the call on picking those two deserves credit,” Cook was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on TNT Sports.

“The reason he bowled a 30-over spell was because he was on the money with every ball and the pressure he created for the Indians, who to be honest, didn’t bat well. They struggled with the balance of attack and defence and it’s not often you say that about the home side not adjusting to the conditions well,” the opener added.