Shoaib Bashir interview: I mistakenly ignored Brendon McCullum’s call for England selection

Shoaib Bashir’s selection in the England Test squad for India surprised everyone, including the young spinner. It did not occur to Bashir that a missed phone call with a New Zealand dialling code could be from Brendon McCullum, who was trying to deliver the good news.

The odds of the England coach trying to call him seemed so remote that Bashir did not give the missed call another thought.

“I was like ‘Who is this? It could be anyone random’,” the 20-year-old tells Telegraph Sport in his first newspaper interview.

It took a follow-up message on WhatsApp from McCullum to Bashir to draw a response, and this time, it was instant.

“I didn’t think it was someone winding me up, and I didn’t think much of it until it hit me. Then I was like, ‘Wow, it’s Baz,’” Bashir explains. “Honestly, I can’t put it into words now, and it’s been two or three days. It’s just so special. I’m delighted to have an opportunity – it is crazy, crazy news.”

When the news finally started to sink in, Bashir cried tears of joy.

A veteran of merely six first-class appearances, Bashir has been picked as much for what he might become as for what he is now. But if he is to thrive – or even survive – on what will be an unforgiving first sub-continental trip, Bashir will need to fully utilise his advanced bag of tricks unusual for someone so young.

“I’ve got the off-spinner, the undercutter, a side-spinner and an arm ball. And I am working on a Carrom ball, too,” he adds excitedly. “So, I’ve got a few, and I think they would work quite nicely in India.”

Alongside that range of deliveries, Bashir’s gangly 6ft 4in frame brings added bounce while his vast hands help him bowl with control beyond his years. There is no doubt that his potential far exceeds his current record of his 10 first-class wickets at 67 apiece.

“People say to me all the time that I’ve got long fingers. It makes me laugh,” he says with a wide grin, speaking from Somerset’s Taunton base.

Bashir has just returned from the England Lions’ trip to the UAE, where his six for 42 against Afghanistan A undoubtedly nudged the selection dial in his favour. However, it was the time spent with coaches Graeme Swann and Andrew Flintoff that broadened Bashir’s horizons.

“Legends,” he says. “Such good lads. You look at them and you’re reminiscing on these old thoughts of them taking poles, whacking the ball. It’s just unbelievable. To be working with them now is incredible.”

What wisdom did former off-spinner Swann – whose 255 Test wickets included 28 at 28.96 in India – impart?

“He moved away from the technical side of the game,” says Bashir. “We focused on setting fields when the ball is spinning and when the ball’s not spinning. We focused more on how to get batters out as opposed to changing the run-up or how the ball comes out of the hand.”

Bashir’s action, with its repeatability and high release point, is natural. Despite his height, he never bowled seam-up and technical tweaking has been minimal. He describes himself as “attacking and aggressive at times” with a penchant for mind games.

“I like messing around with batter’s minds,” Bashir admits. Is that how, at Chelmsford in June, Bashir managed to beat Alastair Cook’s outside edge twice in his first professional over? “Probably not, because that was my debut! But it’s stuff like running up and stopping as if I don’t feel right. Then the batter is like, ‘Oh, why did he do that? Is he trying to change something up?’

“But that day was unbelievable. For him to be my first over was…insane. It came out nicely. Those two videos of beating the outside edge will stick with me for a long time.”

How many times has he viewed those now viral clips? A pause, before an unconvincing “not many” comes through laughter. Although Bashir did not speak to Cook afterwards, he did pick Essex’s prolific South African off-spinner Simon Harmer’s brains.

Suddenly, Bashir stops mid-conversation. Perhaps because only now is he getting the chance to reflect on the past 18 months, he, without prompt, says: “My journey has been so special. Honestly. I’m so grateful for everything that’s happened to me.”

Because there have been bumps along the way. Cricket was the only sport Bashir played growing up and he recalls sitting on the boundary “since I was in nappies” with brother Mohsin, hoping for a wave from Uncle Saj keeping wicket for his club side.

Cricketing time was split between the Surrey Pathway and Guildford CC, the club of England internationals Ollie Pope, Will Jacks and Martin Bicknell – such is his youth, Bashir confesses to not being entirely aware of the latter.

But aged 17 he was deemed surplus to Surrey requirements. “The tough part was finding someone who would take me on board again,” he explains. “I did go to places like Hampshire, who didn’t really give me an answer. Then I went to Middlesex but only played two games there.”

Berkshire though, welcomed Bashir warmly. He starred in their 2022 summer, and five for 26 in a victory over Somerset U18s piqued his current county’s interest: “Matt Drakeley [Somerset’s head of talent pathway] asked if I was available to play a Somerset 2s game at Guildford, my home club.

“And I was like, ‘Of course, I wouldn’t miss this for the world’. I played that, but it was rain-affected. We had Warwickshire the next week, and I took five wickets there and caught the eye of Somerset. And now I’m here. It’s crazy.”

Bashir’s grin is back when asked about the reaction of his Somerset team-mates to his Test inclusion. The love between him and them is mutual. “I see these guys as my family away from home,” he explains.

Amongst his closest friends is James Rew, and Bashir was in the middle when Rew reached a maiden first-class double century against Hampshire in July. The only thing nearly breaking Rew’s concentration was laughing at Bashir smoking sixes at the other end. “It was a highlight,” Bashir says. “He calls me funny, but I just try to act normally.”

Bashir is also close with Sonny Baker, Alfie Ogborne and Andrew Umeed, with the quartet living together in Somerset’s on-site accommodation. For decades, those flats have been occupied by the county’s junior professionals and are notoriously messy.

“I like things being quite neat though,” Bashir says. “I like things being done on time. I don’t like being late for training. That’s how I’ve been brought up. That’s stuck with me. Now, I feel that if I’m late for something, I’ve created a bad impression. It’s a good thing to have.”

Also integral to Bashir’s upbringing is his Muslim faith, and next year’s Ramadan partially overlaps with England’s tour. “I feel like religion is who I am today,” he says. “I believe that God has a plan for you, and whatever is good, he will give it to you, and whatever is not, he will keep it away. But he can also take away the good.

“I thank God every day for every opportunity he’s given me, and he showered a massive blessing upon me by getting selected to play for England.”

And with that, Bashir returns to his quarters. Baker has left unwashed dishes that require attention. Again.

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