Shoaib Bashir, the 20-year-old Somerset offspinner with 10 wickets in his first-class career, has been named in England's 16-man squad to tour India for a five-match Test series in early 2024. He is one of three uncapped players included along with left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and fast bowler Gus Atkinson, who have both represented England in limited-overs cricket.
England's captain Ben Stokes, who underwent surgery on his left knee last month, is included in the squad as expected, though will not be fit to bowl. Ben Foakes is also recalled after he was dropped for the Ashes, while Jack Leach and Ollie Pope both return to the squad after back and shoulder injuries during the English summer.
Rehan Ahmed, who took seven wickets on Test debut in Karachi a year ago, is one of four specialist spin options alongside Leach, Hartley and Bashir. There are only four frontline seamers in the squad, with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson complemented by the pace of Atkinson and Mark Wood - meaning no place for Chris Woakes.
But it is Bashir's inclusion that stands out. He made his professional debut in June after signing a professional contract with Somerset and has played only six first-class matches, but was the outstanding spinner on England Lions' recent training camp in the UAE, taking match figures of 6 for 42 in a three-day fixture against Afghanistan's A team.
Rob Key, England's director of cricket, said that Bashir's natural attributes, including a high release point, had encouraged the selectors to look beyond his modest first-class figures, and added that the upbeat environment fostered by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes would help bring out the very best in his abilities.
"I think we focus more on what style of cricket we want to play and what do we think is going to go out there and win," Key said. "It's about 'what is someone's upside?' It's very hard, especially for spinners in English cricket, to judge them on their numbers as such. You're not going to expect your spinner to average 24 with the ball in county cricket, you're trying to see something else and back their character.
"You want to see how the ball comes out of their hand - you're going more to the art of selection, rather than the science of selection - and you back that environment that Stokes and McCullum have created with all the other players, to get the best out of these people. With Stokesy's captaincy in particular, your bet is often that he'll be the one who can get something out of these players. You just want to create an environment where you think they can thrive, which is no mean feat when you're talking about a Test tour of India."
Hartley has a modest first-class record for Lancashire, with 40 career wickets at 36.57. But England believe that he also possesses attributes - he is 6ft 4in, and regularly bowls at speeds of 60mph/97kph or more - which will make him well-suited to replicate the role that Axar Patel has performed in Indian conditions.
With Stokes unlikely to bowl a ball - "we never had him down to be bowling in India," Key said - England will have difficult decisions to make over the balance of their side, not least over the identity of their wicketkeeper. Key hinted at the end of the World Cup that Bairstow had been told to work on his fitness - "he needs to actually get himself into a position where he can go and take on an Indian Test" - but insisted that they have not made a call.
"[It is a] decision to be made and it hasn't been made yet," Key said. "A bit like the Ashes, we will get to the point where we feel like we have to make that decision. A lot can happen between now and then. That will come down to Brendon [McCullum] and Ben balancing the side, all kind of things. It's a different place to keep than England. That decision will be made nearer the time."
Along with Woakes, who hinted at his likely non-inclusion earlier this year, other notable omissions include Dan Lawrence, Liam Dawson and Will Jacks. Lawrence was the spare batter throughout the Ashes but has been squeezed out of the squad, while Dawson and Jacks both have contracts to play in South Africa's SA20, which clashes directly with the tour.
Liam Livingstone, who made his Test debut in Pakistan a year ago, was not included and will instead play franchise cricket, while Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue - who picked up an injury on the Lions' training camp in the UAE last month - are among the seamers on the periphery.
England's squad will travel to the UAE for a preparatory camp in mid-January and will arrive in India shortly before the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25. An England Lions squad, which is yet to be named, will also travel to India to shadow the main tour.
England Test squad: Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (captain), Mark Wood