England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has been excluded from the rest of the five-Test series against India after incurring a broken left little finger during the just-concluded third Test at Lord’s. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Monday that the 21-year-old will be operated upon later this week.
The news broke just after Bashir took the last wicket of Mohammed Siraj to help England snatch a close 22-run victory and take a 2-1 series lead. He was injured on Day 3 when he attempted to cut off Ravindra Jadeja’s strong straight drive with his non-bowling hand, with the ball shattering into the hand and leading to the fracture.
“England men’s spinner Shoaib Bashir has sustained a fracture to his left finger and has been ruled out of the remainder of the Rothesay Test series against India. He is scheduled to undergo surgery later this week,” the ECB said in a statement. “England will name their squad for the fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford in the next couple of days.”
In spite of the bruising setback, Bashir demonstrated incredible determination, resuming the game later in the match. He had a peripheral role until Day 5’s final session, where he pulled the ace, bowling Siraj as the ball ricocheted off the bat onto the stumps wrapping up England’s thrilling win.
