A highly-educated, unfazed character, that's who...
Thursday 27 October 2016 17:37, UK
Left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari will make his Test debut when England take on Bangladesh in the second and final match of the series, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
But what do you need to know about the multi-talented Surrey star? Here are his key details, including how his skills are not just limited to the cricket pitch…
First-class stats (numbers correct as of Oct 27)
Matches: 66
Wickets: 122
Best bowling: 6-30
Bowling average: 34.45
Runs: 2,908
HS: 112
Batting average: 31.26
How has he bowled of late?
Not too shabbily, you have to say. He took 4-68 in the second warm-up game but it wasn't enough to earn him a spot in the first Test - his county captain, Gareth Batty, getting the nod instead. He had a slow start to the 2016 County Championship season after sustaining a fractured thumb on the day he was named in England's Test squad to face Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, in September 2015, but grew into the summer to finish with 22 scalps at 31.40 apiece. The undoubted highlight came in mid-June when he claimed 6-16 in 6.2 overs to skittle Nottinghamshire.
The previous summer he bagged 44 wickets in the County Championship, with three five-fors and a best of 6-30 against Gloucestershire in June, to help his side earn promotion to the top flight. Ansari has also seized 10 scalps during Surrey's run to the Royal London One-Day Cup Final.
He can bat a bit as well, can't he?
Ansari has scored three first-class tons and 15 half-centuries since making his Surrey debut in 2011, cementing his spot as one of the county's most versatile batsmen up or down the order thanks to his patient rather than potent style. The Berkshire-born player's solitary ton came against Derbyshire in 2015 - the left-hander notching 439 Championship runs this term with two fifties, at an average of 27.
Haven't I seen him in an England shirt before?
You have if you are a devout watcher of England Under-19 cricket or if you saw England's blink-and-you'll miss it one-dayer with Ireland in Malahide in May 2015. Ansari was one of five ODI debutants - alongside Surrey pal Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey and Mark Wood - in a game that lasted just 18 overs due to inclement weather in Dublin. Ansari was not chucked the ball after stand-in England skipper James Taylor chose to bowl, so had to content himself with jogging around the outfield and high-fiving his team-mates as the visitors reduced Ireland to 56-4.
Is he a man for the big occasion?
Ansari showed his skills while playing for Cambridge University against Surrey in 2011, taking 5-33 including the prize wicket of Kevin Pietersen, and then shone on his T20 debut for his county. He biffed 30 from 18 balls against Essex after coming in at No 7 with Surrey in a dicey position and then bowled four frugal overs to help tee up the side's 43-run win before duly being named Man of the Match.
He's somewhat of a bright spark, isn't he?
Ansari has a double-first from Cambridge in politics and sociology and is currently writing his masters, a 40,000-word piece on the American south's civil rights movement in the 1960s. An adept piano player to boot, Ansari has refused to rule out a PhD in future.
What do they say about him?
Alastair Cook: "Clearly he has the ability to take the ball away from the right-handers. One thing I've seen in the nets is he can bowl at good pace with good control. It will be really interesting to see how he goes. He can also bat as well, which is good."
Mark Butcher: "England need to find out if Zafar Ansari is able to do a job as a left-arm spinner, to see if they have another bowler capable of taking the ball away from India's myriad of right-handed batsmen."
Watch the second Test between Bangladesh and England live on Sky Sports 2 from 4.30am on Friday.
