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Who Is Liam Dawson? England's Surprise Pick To Replace Shoaib Bashir In Test Series vs India

Abhinav Tyagi

Liam Dawson Returns - (Source : @ECB/X.com)Liam Dawson Returns - (Source : @ECB/X.com)

On Tuesday, July 15, England dropped their squad for the fourth Test against India when the two teams lock horns at Old Trafford on July 23. The Three Lions made a few changes as Jamie Overton, Sam Cook were left out, while 35-year-old Liam Dawson was named Shoaib Bashir's replacement.

Notably, following the win against India at Lord's, England captain Ben Stokes revealed that Bashir was ruled out of the remaining two Tests because of injury. Thus, there were speculations that Jack Leach or Rehan Ahmed might make it to the squad, but the ECB took everyone by surprise by naming 35-year-old Dawson in the squad, marking his return to the Test set-up after eight long years.

Who is Liam Dawson? Making his Test return after 8 years?

The Hampshire-born cricketer made his England debut in 2016 in T20Is, eventually featuring in the other two formats in the same year. Interestingly, life has come full circle for Dawson as the left-arm spinner made his Test debut against India in 2016, where he was added to the squad for the last two Tests. 

Dawson made full use of the opportunity by scoring fifty in his maiden Test innings and also picking up a couple of wickets. Dawson then toured to South Africa with England, where the 35-year-old had a poor run with the bat as well as the ball, resulting in his ouster from the team. 

The left-arm spinner continued to remain active in the rest of the two formats and was also part of England's World Cup-winning squad in the 2019 edition, but did not get a single game. His last ODI was in 2022, but he remains a key player for the Three Lions in T20Is. 

Talking about Dawson, the 35-year-old is quite active and up for franchise cricket as he has played in PSL, Lanka Premier League, The Hundred, SA 20, and also the BBL. However, Liam never played in the Indian Premier League. 

Why Was Dawson Preferred Ahead Of Jack Leach?

Talking about Dawson's recent appearance, he has done well in County cricket, which rules out his selection based on T20 performances. Notably, the 35-year-old has 21 wickets in 16 innings playing for Hampshire. 

More importantly, Dawson can be a great No.8 for England as the left-arm spinner amassed 536 runs in 14 innings, averaging 44.67. It includes a century and two fifties.