Rajkot: Teen sensation Haseeb Hameed will make his Test debut against India, England announced yesterday, capping a fairytale rise for a player dubbed the “Baby Boycott” for his unflappable batting style.
At 19 years, Hameed will become the youngest player to open the batting in England’s Test history after skipper Alastair Cook named him in the starting XI for the series-opener beginning in Rajkot on Wednesday.
“To average 50 in Division One (of the English county championship) as a 19-year-old is an incredible feat,” Cook said of Hameed, who has drawn comparisons to batting legend Geoff Boycott for his solid technique and knack of playing lengthy innings.
“I remember how hard it was and I was nowhere near the player he is at 19,” Cook said at the pre-match press conference.
But Cook, 31, said Ben Duckett, who opened in the last Test against Bangladesh, would drop down the order to accommodate Hameed while the struggling Gary Ballance has been dropped.
Hameed’s first cap comes on the back of an impressive 1,455 first-class runs from 20 games and some strong shows in recent England warm-up matches.
“He’s incredibly unflappable,” said Cook, lavishing praise on the youngster who has an Indian-born father. “He looks a very good player of spin. He picks length very well and uses the crease well, both forward and back.
“Stuart Broad bowled at him last summer and was almost straight on the phone to me saying how impressed he was with this guy.”
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