Sunday, September 23, 2018

Shahbaz Nadeem: 8/10

Shahbaz Nadeem finally got his due in the limelight after years of toiling away for Jharkhand and India A. Topped the highest wicket-takers table for two Ranji seasons in a row and been a India A regular for a long, long time. Has been in the mix for an India call, which has yet to culminate. Yet he keeps toiling. Nadeem has also been part of the India nets as recently as last week. Don't think anyone has ever come this close to a call-up to the national squad without actually getting the call!

But after 375 Fist-Class wickets & over 200 limited overs wickets, Shahbaz Nadeem finally has the spotlight on him. It needed a world-record spell of 8 wickets for 10 runs from 10 overs against Rajasthan to grab it though. And Rajasthan are no minnows, having won the Ranji Trophy twice in recent years! This improved on Rahul Sanghvi's haul of 8 for 15 against Himachal Pradesh.

Finally, Nadeem has the media & the casual followers' attention. Hopefully, this translates into an India call soon. We do have the West Indies tour coming up and it is also the run-up year to the World Cup. The competition for slots is tough, with Kuldeep, Chahal, Jadeja, Ashwin, Sundar, Krunal all in the mix for the two spinners slots. But Nadeem has also put his hat in.

Links - Video of the 8-wicket haul. (BCCI)

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