India v England: 'Shoaib Bashir was brilliant' - Alastair Cook explains what makes young spinner special

Sir Alastair Cook has given his reaction to Shoaib Bashir taking eight wickets in a very impressive showing in the fourth Test match against India.

The hosts successfully chased their target of 152 runs on day four with a clinical batting performance on Monday in Ranchi to seal a 3-1 series victory over Ben Stokes' side.

While England could not prevent defeat in the match and the series, the display from the 20-year-old spinner left former England captain Cook to reflect on a number of positives, both for him and the team.

"The obvious positive is the way that the young spinners bowled," Cook told TNT Sports after the match. "I thought that Bashir was brilliant with eight wickets in the game; I thought Hartley was very good again.

"I think just for a bit of context given how well they bowled, I think Bashir has only ever bowled four overs in the fourth innings of a game, so that is what Ben Stokes, and this England team are dealing with.

"Also, you can say that they have never been first-choice spinners at their clubs. Certainly, even looking at this summer, Bashir was playing with Jack Leach, who will get the number one pick, and you are not going to play two spinners in April.

"It is the same with Hartley with Lancashire signing Nathan Lyon for the whole summer, so that gives you an indication of where these guys are at.

"The way that they have acquitted themselves, the way they have actually handled the pressure but also the way they have bowled, there is so much potential.

"Certainly, with Bashir, he seems to have a great head on his shoulders. He seems to like bowling in the pressure situations, and he seems to like the fact that he has everything ahead of him to get better.

"He knows that he is not the finished article, but he is prepared to put in the hard yards. His story, getting released from Surrey to playing Minor Counties and then getting picked up by Somerset shows that he is willing to have a few setbacks and that will not deter him."

Asked to highlight Bashir's particular strengths after his impressive showing at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Cook was clear about what he sees as the key factors.

"The first thing: naturally, he has got outstanding control of length," he explained. "He barely misses that length.

"The natural attribute of the height he has, with the highest release point, means that he is always going to get bounce. Spinners love bounce, and he is naturally going to get that.

"He gives the ball a big turn; he does give it a rip, naturally, so he will always find some. The step for him to improve will be to try and get a bit more drift to the right-handers rather than it angling in all the time.

"I'm picking holes in a 20-year-old not to criticise, but in terms of the areas to work on. The shape, the dip and the turn will be what Bashir will be aiming for, and he definitely has the potential to do that.

"The fact that he does not bowl too many bad balls means that he will get to bowl, and he won't be going at huge runs per over because he has that control.

"Certainly, when we played him for Essex last year, that was one thing I noticed that he did not bowl much rubbish."

On this England set up being conducive for young players arriving on the scene and playing positively without fear, Cook noted that it has been reflected in the immediate results for many.

"You can only say that the people coming in have done really well, certainly on the bowling side of it," he said.

"Obviously they like the environment they are getting to. I think over the last few years, under Joe Root as well, the England set up has been a good one to get in to.

"This is a different brand of cricket they are trying to play, and the players are always challenged around can they improve that 1%. That is the mentality they have got to keep going with."

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