Just two Test matches into his international career and 20-year-old Shoaib Bashir, a student of the Rajasthan Royals Academy in Surrey, is already making a name for himself with a string of stellar performances.
The tall off-spinner made his England cricket team debut against India at Visakhapatnam, claiming four wickets in two innings. In the next Test match in Ranchi, Bashir produced figures of 5/119 in the first innings and helped England get back into the game in the second innings by picking up 3/79.
Reflecting on Shoaib Bashir’s consistency, Michael Vaughan noted that England might have discovered a “world-class superstar” in the young off-spinner. The former England captain further added that the young offie has the skills to follow in the footsteps of veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, a member of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the 2022 season.
“One of the great weeks, celebrating another world-class superstar that we’ve unearthed,” Vaughan said on Club Prairie Fire’s YouTube channel. “Second Test match, eight wickets, he’s the new Ravi Ashwin, and we’ve unearthed him.
“So, we’re celebrating a new superstar in English cricket,” the former England captain added.
With more than 500 scalps to his name, Ashwin is one of the modern-day greats of the game. The veteran off-spinner is set to play his 100th Test match in Dharamshala next week.
On the other hand, Bashir made his first-class debut for Somerset in June last year. Bashir joined the Rajasthan Royals Surrey Academy at the age of 11 and has since then worked rigorously under the guidance of our Head of Academy Coaching, Siddhartha Lahiri.
Shoaib Bashir is one of the many successful stories emerging from various Rajasthan Royals academies over the years.
