Tabraiz Shamsi continues in the footsteps of Imran Tahir with his unique celebration styles
There's something unique about the way South African spinners celebrate their wickets. "Jr. Parasakthi Express" Imran Tahir has already enamored the fans with his trademark celebration of running towards the crowd with his arms stretched out wide, and now the quirky style of left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has come to the fore too.
Playing for Paarl Rocks in the ongoing Mzansi Super League in South Africa, Shamsi claimed the wicket of Wihan Lubbe and then ran towards the crowd, pulling out a red handkerchief in the process. Soon, the red piece of cloth was converted mysteriously into a magic wand, much to everyone's surprise.
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Speaking on the topic of his celebrations, Shamsi stated that magic was something that had intrigued him since childhood. He said:
"I have always been fascinated by magic and different tricks. From the age of about 15 or 16, I wanted to become a magician as it was a hobby of mine... It wasn't just a phase, but something that really interested me as a small child. I still love it, but cricket obviously took over after that."
"Entertaining on the field is just my way of taking the pressure off myself and being able to enjoy things. I feel like when I am myself, I am able to play my best cricket."
There are close to six different styles in which he celebrates his wickets, and they have all been posted by Shamsi himself on Instagram. They include his dancing bit with Indian skipper Virat Kohli after capturing David Warner's wicket in the IPL, his limping celebration, hiding his face, shoe-dial and one in the CPL with Carlos Brathwaite.
In the recently concluded series against India, Shamsi performed his trademark 'shoe-dialing' celebration after picking up the wicket of Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan.
While Shamsi's celebrations are a hot topic right now, we shouldn't forget the contribution of Tahir who started the trend. Tahir's celebrations were appreciated to such an extent during the IPL that the Chennai Super Kings fans nicknamed him the "Jr. Parasakthi Express".
"Sometimes, my wife and son are here, and I want to show them that I love them as much as I love CSK, so at times, I run towards them. But normally, I don't know when I am celebrating, I hope that people like this. Pray to Allah, I keep taking wickets like this and celebrating like this," Tahir had said in response to the moniker given to him by the fans.
