Bashir ruled out of last two England vs India Tests with fractured finger

England offspinner Shoaib Bashir has been ruled out of the final two matches of a riveting Test series against India with a fractured finger on his non-bowling hand.

Bashir delivered the decisive wicket in England's breathtaking 22-run victory in the final session of the third Test at Lord's, but is due to undergo surgery later this week.

He suffered the injury on the little finger of his left hand attempting a return catch off a powerfully struck drive from Ravindra Jadeja on day three.

"It's not good news for Bash," Ben Stokes said after the match. "Very disappointing for us as a team and for him, a big shame.

"The courage that he showed to go out there and bat at the end for us and willing to sit there on the bench waiting for his moment to come on and bowl just proves how much it means to everyone who gets the opportunity to put the shirt on, that not even a couple of breaks is going to stop anyone getting out there."

Bashir defied the pain to bat in England's second innings, facing nine balls in scoring two runs before he became the last wicket to fall, Washington Sundar's fourth, as England set India a target of 193.

After spending much of the fourth innings off the field, Stokes called on him in the 55th over as England sought the final two wickets they needed for victory and a 2-1 series lead with Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah in the midst of a stubborn 35-run partnership off 132 balls.

With his ring and little finger splinted together and heavily bandaged, Bashir bowled three overs in an elongated middle session in which Stokes removed Bumrah to make it nine down.

In the field, Bashir held his left hand gingerly out of the way as he ran round from mid-off and dived to his right to cut off a boundary. But he returned to the attack immediately after the tea break and that's when the moment Stokes described to BBC's Test Match Special as "written in the stars" happened.

It was 2.5 overs into that second spell and it happened so fast, yet in slow-motion, the result elation, yet devastation. Bashir tossed one up above No. 11 Mohammed Siraj's eyeline as he played back to some ferocious back-spin, the ball rolling down the bat face into the crease then dribbling onto leg stump, just one of the bails falling gently, yet cruelly to the ground.

"What an amazing feeling for him to be able to take that wicket there and with his hand in the state that it's in, amazing," Stokes told his post-match press conference. "Very proud of the way that he went about the rest of the week after having to come off the field.

"There would be a lot of people who might not necessarily have been brave enough to go out there and face Bumrah and then also put himself up for wanting to get out there and bowl and help his team."

Stokes and Bashir shared a long embrace in celebration, which was no doubt bittersweet given the bowler's circumstances. England will name their squad for the fourth Test, starting at Old Trafford on July 23, in the coming days.

Liam Dawson made a successful return to international duty after more than two years in the first match of England's T20I series against West Indies last month, returning career-best figures of 4 for 20, and is in contention as a replacement for Bashir, as is fellow left-arm spinner Jack Leach.

"Every time I looked around at the bench and asked for a drink I'd just see Bash's little head peeking through there ready to go," Stokes said. "We were told by the match officials that he could stay off the field when he wasn't bowling, but if he was bowling he had to stay out there.

"And look, we obviously threw a lot at their batting line-up today with seam so just breaking that flow of the game up with spin every now and again was something I was going to go to.

"We all thought it was a good option and it was great that Bash was able to get that last wicket with what he had to deal with this week."

Bashir finished with 1 for 59 from 14.1 overs in India's first innings, where they equalled England's total of 387, and his subsequent 1 for 6 from 5.5 overs took his tally for the series to 10 at an average of 54.10. That one wicket will give him plenty to smile about during the road ahead.