Making just his second international appearance during the fourth Test in Ranchi, Bashir picked up eight wickets, including his maiden first-class five-for, and briefly gave England hope of levelling the series
England captain Ben Stokes has heaped praise on Shoaib Bashir, stating the "sky is the limit" for the young spinner.
The 20-year-old had just six first-class appearances and 10 wickets to his name when he was selected in England's 16-strong squad in December.
However, in the fourth Test in Ranchi, he dominated with the ball in India's first innings, bowling 31 overs unchanged and picking up 5 for 119 – his maiden five-wicket haul in professional cricket.
Stokes heaped praise on Bashir following England's defeat [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
He followed it up with 3 for 79 in the fourth innings, including striking twice in two balls immediately after lunch to set Indian nerves jangling as they slipped to 120 for 5 in pursuit of 192.
However, he couldn't prevent Engand from conceding the series defeat, with Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel leading India to a five-wicket win.
Bashir has now taken 12 wickets at 32.83 in the series – second only to Tom Hartley (20) among his teammates – and boasts a better economy (3.20) than both Ravindra Jadeja (3.40) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3.95).
"Shoaib Bashir… wow, what a story, what a journey," Stokes, who first saw Bashir bowling on social media, told the host broadcaster after the match.
"Coming in here and taking eight wickets in the game, taking his first five-wicket haul as a professional in a Test match against India – the sky is the limit for that guy.Very, very proud of him."
SHOAIB BASHIR IS ON A HAT-TRICK!
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England are cooking straight after lunch 🧑🍳🔥#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/UWavSvlfvY
Paying tribute to both Bashir and fellow spinner Hartley, who bowled all but 10 of the 61 overs India faced in their second innings and returned combined figures of 4 for 149, Stokes added: "It was a great Test match. You look at the scoreboard, India win by five wickets, I don't think it really gives enough credit to the game as a whole, the amount of ebbs and flows.
"I've got to give so much credit to our spinners Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, to come out and put in that performance throughout the whole Test match, but particularly today.
"Being exposed in situations like that in such an early stage of their career is incredible. I couldn't be more proud of those two in particular."
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