Shoaib Bashir has shown the world what he can do: Ben Stokes

England skipper Ben Stokes heaped praise on Shoaib Bashir for his exceptional performance in the second innings of the Trent Bridge clash against the West Indies. The 20-year-old off-spinner helped England clinch the series with his 7-wicket haul across the two innings. 

As the West Indies aimed to chase a total of 385 runs in the second innings, Shoaib Bashir put in a brilliant showing. Bowling 11.1 overs in the second innings, Bashir took five wickets, conceded 41 runs, and helped England win the game. 

Seeing his performance, England skipper Ben Stokes lauded Bashir for his performance. He also revealed that Bashir always seems to know what to do and always has the intention to take wickets. 

"He has got so much talent, and he's got an unbelievable desire to get better, his intent is to always take wickets and never just to hold an end up. It's really good for a young guy to put in a performance that wins England a Test. He was pretty emotional at the end. It's a pretty cool day for him. He has shown the world what he can do,” Stokes was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. 

Bashir was selected in the England squad for the first time when Stokes saw some clips of him bowling to Alastair Cook on X. Despite Bashir not being a regular for Somerset at the time, the youngster’s skill set was deemed worthy of a tour of the subcontinent by Stokes.

With 17 wickets from three Tests in India, including five-fers at Ranchi and Dharamsala, Bashir solidified Stokes’ trust in him, and he has continued to perform. "The decisions we make are all based around not only how far we think talent can take a player, but if we think they're good enough for international cricket straight away," Stokes said 

"Bash showed what he could do in India with conditions in his favour, but the pitch this week didn't really offer much for spin and he has taken seven wickets in the match,” he added.