Tabraiz Shamsi: 10 things you need to know about RCB's magic spinner
It is often said that one person’s misfortune is another’s opportunity. Samuel Badree‘s injury opened up an avenue for Tabraiz Shamsi to hog the limelight for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ninth edition of the IPL. Let us take a look at some important facts about the obscure cricketer’s journey, so far.
1) Tabraiz Shamsi was born on February 18, 1990, in Johannesburg which is South Africa’s largest city. After making his debut for Gauteng in 2009, he has been turning out for the Titans in the South African domestic circuit.
2) Shamsi is a chinaman bowler who has picked up 272 wickets from 68 First-Class matches at an impressive average of 24.90. However, the left-arm spinner’s limited-overs statistics are slightly underwhelming with 45 wickets from 44 Twenty-20 fixtures at an average of 23.64 and economy rate of 7.03.
3) But, the 26-year old grabbed the attention of onlookers during the 2015 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) when he topped the bowling charts for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots with 11 wickets from 7 games at an average of 13.27 and his economy rate of 6.79.
4)The interesting part of his performance in the CPL was that he managed to overshadow Badree’s exploits with his exemplary control. Though Badree‘s Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel eventually won the title, Shamsi‘s average was the second best for any spinner with more than 10 wickets after Devendra Bishoo.
5) It was nothing short of a miracle that he actually participated in the Caribbean festival. According to SuperSport, Tabraiz impressed Marlon Samuels during a practice match for the West Indians against a South African invitational XI during December 2014 and was signed by the Patriots upon the maverick batsman’s insistence.