Twitter reacts as Shahbaz Ahmed gets maiden call-up for Zimbabwe ODIs

India will tour Zimbabwe for three ODIs from August 18 to 22 and both teams have announced their squads for the series. KL Rahul returns to the Indian team after recovering from an injury and will lead the side, and Shikhar Dhawan will be his deputy. However, Bengal all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed became a surprise entrant into the team, who has come in to replace the injured Washington Sundar.

Sundar, who was initially named in the 15-member squad, suffered a shoulder injury and was ruled out of the series. His replacement, Shahbaz, was named on August 16, Tuesday. This is the Bengal player’s maiden national call-up in his young career as a professional cricketer. He is a left-arm orthodox spinner and a middle-order left-handed batter and represents Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Shahbaz Ahmed earned his first IPL contract in 2020

Shahbaz made his debut in the Indian domestic circuit in September 2018 in a List-A match for Bengal against Jammu & Kashmir. He has now played 18 first-class matches, 26 List-A matches and 56 T20s. He first earned an IPL contract in 2020 after he was signed by RCB.

Shahbaz has played 29 matches in the IPL and has scored 279 runs and picked up 13 wickets. He has scored over 1,000 runs in first-class strict at an average of 41.64 and scored over 600 runs in List-A cricket at an average of 47.28 and a strike rate of 92.45. In his last game for Bengal, he scored 138 runs and picked up eight wickets against Madhya Pradesh in the semifinal of the 2022 Ranji Trophy.

Meanwhile, Sundar suffered the injury on the field while trying to stop a boundary on August 10, playing for Lancashire against Worcestershire in the Royal London Cup in Old Trafford, Manchester. He landed awkwardly on the ground and immediately left the field holding his left shoulder. He was out for the remainder of the match, and a BCCI official confirmed that he would undergo rehabilitation at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. India’s ODI series against Zimbabwe will be the last series going into the 2022 Asia Cup.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Shahbaz Ahmed’s inclusion in Zimbabwe ODIs