Who is Shayan Jahangir? 5 interesting facts about USA opener who replaced Monank Patel for T20 World Cup clash vs India
Shayan Jahangir replaced skipper Monank Patel in the United States of America's (USA) playing XI in the T20 World Cup clash against India on Wednesday, June 12. Unfortunately, Jahangir went back to the hut for a golden duck after Arshdeep Singh trapped him LBW in the first ball of the innings.
Born in Karachi, the 29-year-old has featured in 12 ODIs and two T20Is for the USA, and amassed a total of 356 runs, with a hundred and a half-century.
On that note, let's take a look at the five interesting facts about the USA opener, Shayan Jahangir.
#1 Played for Pakistan U19 team
Shayan Jahangir featured in seven youth ODIs for the Pakistan U19 team in 2013. In the tri-nation series, involving Bangladesh and England, he scored 85 runs in four innings. Jahangir played his last first-class game for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in December 2016.
#2 Was scouted by Barbados Tridents owner
With no luck in featuring for the Pakistan senior team, Jahangir decided to shift his base to the USA for better opportunities.
For a few years, he played club cricket in Houston and Dallas, where the Texas-based owner of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team spotted him. As a result, Jahangir was selected in the CPL 2020 draft by the franchise. He played a solitary game that season but didn't get an opportunity to bat.
#3 Shayan Jahangir made his USA debut in November 2022
Jahangir was part of a 44-man USA squad in Texas ahead of the 2021 Oman Tri-Nation Series. However, he finally made his debut for the national team in an ODI fixture against Namibia in November 2022. His T20I debut came in May 2024 against Bangladesh, where he scored 18 off 20 deliveries.
#4 His ultimate goal was to play against Virat Kohli
Shayan Jahangir brought up his first ODI century against Nepal in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in June 2023. He smashed 100 off 79 balls, including 10 fours and three sixes, to power the USA to 207.
After his impressive knock, Jahangir expressed his desire to demonstrate his batting abilities in front of Virat Kohli.
"To play against Virat Kohli, that’s my ultimate goal. Play against him, and show there’s another batter on the block, waiting for the opportunities in all these big leagues,” Jahangir told the ICC.
In that tournament, Jahangir emerged as the USA's second-best batter with 242 runs in five innings.
#5 Represented MI New York in MLC
Jahangir represented the eventual champions MI New York in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023. The right-handed batter impressed by scoring 164 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 119.70, with a top score of 41.
Shayan Jahangir played an important knock of 36 off 18 in the semi-finals to help MI New York prevail over the Texas Kings.