Samit Patel will be part of an England Test squad for the first time in nearly three years after Zafar Ansari saw his hopes of making a debut in next month’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates ended by injury.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Ansari had this week visited a hand specialist and underwent an MRI scan on the open dislocation suffered to his left-thumb while fielding in Surrey’s Division Two fixture at Lancashire last Tuesday and coming just hours after his call-up.
But despite surgery being ruled out, the rehabilitation time means that, with England’s first warm-up match of the tour against Pakistan A in Sharjah starting five days after the squad’s arrival on 30 September, the 23-year-old must now wait for his next opportunity.
In comes Nottinghamshire’s Patel, the last of whose five Test caps came in the 2-1 series win in India in 2012. The 30-year-old right-hander has not enjoyed strong returns with the bat this year for a player of his talent – he has averaged 24 in the championship – but his left-arm orthodox has brought 25 first-class wickets at 32.40.
“I have always been aiming to get another chance to play for England,” Patel told the Nottinghamshire club website. “It’s something I never gave up on. It’s up to me to make an impression on the tour and hopefully earn a place in the team.
“I feel like my bowling has improved a lot since I last played international cricket and, playing over in the UAE, the conditions should give me some assistance. With the bat, everybody knows the Pakistan spinners are going to play a big part and batting against slow bowling is something I’m confident in doing.”
Patel will now compete with Adil Rashid for a place in England’s final XI for the first Test with Pakistan in Abu Dhabi which starts on 13 October. Yorkshire’s uncapped leg-spinner would appear to be next in line to join Moeen Ali as one of two slow bowling options require by captain Alastair Cook in subcontinental conditions, having been an unused member of all five Ashes squads during the summer.
For the promising Ansari, whose call-up was made with one eye on the future, the next target is to get fit for the England Performance Programme’s spin camp in Dubai in November, before joining the Lions team for their five-match Twenty20 series Pakistan A there the following month.
James Whitaker, the national selector, said: “The timing of this injury, on the day his selection was announced, was particularly cruel for Zafar and he is naturally extremely disappointed to have to pull out of the tour. As a left-arm spinner and a middle-order batsman, Samit is a similar type of player to Zafar and his previous international experience, and in particular, experience of performing for England in sub-continental conditions will be an extremely useful asset to the squad in the UAE.”
