Shahbaz Nadeem dedicates India call-up to his mother
He grabbed the eyeballs by creating a world record in List A cricket with his figures of 8/10 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this year.
After consistent performances at the domestic level, the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem has finally got an India call-up for the upcoming T20I series against the Windies. He recently toppled an all-time List A record while playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and has also been amongst the wickets regularly while playing for his state.
As the Indian selectors announced the squad for the T20I series against the Windies and Australia next month, they made a set of brave decisions, the most notable one being dropping MS Dhoni from the side. However, Nadeem was called up only for the Windies T20Is, and could well go on to make his international debut in early November.
Shahbaz Nadeem is a seasoned candidate who boasts of 375 first-class wickets and 143 in List A cricket. In the shortest format of the game, he is 11 scalps away from getting to 100. He’s a left-arm spinner who relies on the flight, and in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy he picked up 51 wickets, becoming the sixth bowler to claim fifty or more wickets in a Ranji season.
Nadeem, who has been part of the India A sides, has also had the opportunity to captain Jharkhand. He extended his domestic form into the 2013 IPL, taking nine wickets in 12 matches for Delhi Daredevils at an economy rate of under six. He remains an important player in the Daredevils franchise, featuring frequently in their bowling attack.
My mother often got agitated, but I had to be patient
After he received his India call-up, the 29-year old expressed his happiness at seeing his parents smile with pride. Speaking to the Hindustan Times about the special moment, he said, “The smile on my mother’s face was my biggest reward when I got the India call-up. While my father has always been very understanding and knows that there is a stiff competition for places in the national team, my mother would sometimes lose her composure and I had to make her understand that there are only 15 or 16 slots available and all the people in the team are proven performers.”
“But you know how mothers are. My father would sometimes join me to make her understand that a lot of factors need to combine for a person to go ahead and play for the country. To be fair, every child who starts playing the game wishes to represent India. But, only some manage to fulfil their dream,” he signed off.
The first of the three T20Is between India and the Windies takes place at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 4.
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