Bashir to miss rest of India series after decisive wicket 'written in the stars'

Shoaib Bashir will miss the final two matches of England's series with India, having played through the pain barrier to decide the third Test.

England were up against it on day five of the Lord's contest, with India drawing within 23 runs of victory despite the bowling heroics of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.

But Bashir provided the hosts' crowning moment, as Mohammed Siraj defended his delivery back onto his own stumps to ensure India were bowled out for 170.

That came despite Bashir injuring the little finger on his left hand while bowling on day three.

After the end of the match, Stokes confirmed Bashir had suffered a finger break and would not be able to feature at Old Trafford or the Oval, while praising his resilience.

"It's not good news for Bash," Stokes told BBC Sport. "It's very disappointing for us as a team and for him.

"He's 21 years old, he's got a very badly broken finger. To even walk out there and bat on day four... He didn't even ask, he got his pads on and got his finger strapped up.

"Every time I looked down at the bench, I could see his face peering, saying, 'Get me on'. To finish that game off, it was written in the stars."

Test Cricket.Wow. pic.twitter.com/XGDWM1xR2H
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 14, 2025

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) subsequently confirmed Bashir will undergo surgery later this week.

Bashir has taken 68 wickets in 19 Tests for England, having made his debut against India in Visakhapatnam in February 2024.

He has taken 10 wickets in the three Tests against India in this series, but at a cost of 541 runs at an average of 54.10.

Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and Liam Dawson could be spin options to replace Bashir for the fourth Test, which begins on July 23.