One. That’s the grand total of Test matches Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley have played between each other. The first class outings of the trio doesn’t even add up to 40. And yet, it is them that England have entrusted – alongside Jack Leach – for the most daunting challenge in all of bilateral cricket – a Test series in India. This, against a team which has Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel in attendance.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar, who played a crucial hand with 17 wickets in England’s triumphant Test series in India in 2012, reckons playing in these conditions may also be the greatest advantage for the novice spinners. And that it would fit in with the Bazball plan.

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“Ben Stokes would invite the Indian batters to hit them for sixes. He’ll be of the mind, ‘Yeah, try and put them out of the attack. These are young spinners. They’re supposed to go and play county cricket and earn these stripes. But we’re picking them on mere potential. Go after them, I’m going to put the fielders in. Everything’s in your favor.’ If they get whacked, maybe he’ll tweak the field just a little bit, and then it’ll be upto the Indian batsmen: do they fall for the bait or do they knock it around for a little bit and wait for the fielders to come inside again. A cat and mouse game,” Panesar tells The Indian Express.

“What Ben Stokes would want from the young spinners is to take 5/100 in 20, even 16 overs. He wouldn’t mind them going for 100 runs. But do that and take those wickets in 20 instead of 40 overs. I reckon that’ll be the Bazball mentality with the ball,” Panesar says.

While the selection of the three does come across as a bold move, Panesar explains that the choice was more so made for England, rather than from them. Back home, first class cricket opportunities have dwindled down for the slower bowlers.

“It’s to do with the pitches because the county season starts early in April and half the season is done by May. And then we have the T20 blast, the Test matches, and we also have to accommodate the Hundred in August. Whereas in July-August, you’re supposed to have at least 3-4 matches of county cricket, so that the spinners can play. It’s the best time to play for the spinners. Therefore, most county teams don’t use spinners as a containing bowler. They use a third medium pacer for that role. Spinners miss out because of the scheduling of county cricket,” Panesar adds.

The dearth of numbers on paper however, doesn’t mean England don’t have options in their dugout to accompany their first-choice spinner in Leach.

Bashir likely to be second spinner

With a first-class debut dating back to only six months ago, Shoaib Bashir makes a strong case to be England’s second spinner in the Hyderabad Test starting Thursday. The benefits, Panesar believes, are two-fold.

“He’s a tall guy who can extract good bounce from the surface.” While left-arm spinner Tom Hartley stretches equal to Bashir on the measuring scale, the latter offers an angular advantage to complement Leach. “Bashir and Leach will have opposing angles of turn, which makes all the difference. It’s challenging when you have to keep setting yourself for an off spinner, then a left -arm off spinner.”

Panesar’s former England teammate Graeme Swann had also offered his vote to Bashir, pressing on the ‘ludicrous’ size of his fingers that’ll help him to stay consistent with the turn as the series progresses.

The Axar Patel clone

The last time England visited these shores, it was a debutant Indian spinner, who pulverized their batting cast with a nigh unbelievable count of 27 wickets in three matches. On rank turners that reduced five-day matches to three – even two – Axar Patel would deceive the English with his stock ball, the one that went straight to either clean them up or trap them plumb. It was only apt that Stokes and Co found themselves a bowler with a similar penchant.

From what he’s seen of Tom Hartley, Panesar says, “he’s a similar bowler to Axar. He is more of a roller. Axar knows he doesn’t have to put much spin on it. He looks to set the batter up to the non-turning delivery. And then you’ll get the odd one, because his seam is slightly squarer, he’ll get that ball to bite that little bit. Not as sharp as Jadeja. That’s why they complement each other. One’s really tall, the other one is a bit shorter.” It may also be a combination England dwell on, bowling the left-arm duo of Leach – whose stock ball turns away from the right hander – and Hartley in tandem.

Root helps Rehan get in

The legspinner Rehan Ahmed arrives in India as England’s second most-experienced full time spinner. The 19-year-old had made an instant impact on his debut against Pakistan in Karachi back in 2022 with seven wickets. In India however, Panesar believes Ahmed may need the backing of a part-time spinner in an all-rounder’s capacity to make the final cut.

“I think if he comes in as a second spinner, that can be a little bit more pressure for him. He can be a good third spinner. If he knows he’s not a frontline spinner, he can relax and try to bowl those googlies, a bit of topspin and show us a few of his tricks. But if you give him that second spinner role, he may just end up bowling quick leggies,” he says.

In comes Joe Root, who had clinched a first-ever Test 5-fer – conceding only eight runs – on his last tour to India. “ If Bashir doesn’t play, Root can be the more containing, defensive bowler. Rehan can be the more attacking,” Panesar suggests.

“Ben Stokes knows if his spinners go for 4-5 an over, he can go to Joe Root for 5-10 overs to control one end while they attack from the other. They can dovetail like that. If all else fails, he can call Root to get a bit of control back in the game. It’s going to be an important role for Stokes in this series: how he utilises Root. They are quite inexperienced but then the excitement for these young spinners is that they are going to be playing on turning pitches,” says Panesar. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a good ball or a bad one, they’ll still be in the game. They’ve got the opportunity to get wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the best players in the world. If you do well in India as a spinner, everyone recognises that at the world stage.”