Who's Tim David? - Here are 10 facts about RCB's new entrant for IPL 2021 second leg

On Saturday, August 21, Royal Challengers Bangalore announced some of the replacement signings for the second leg of the Indian Premier League 2021, to be played in the United Arab Emirates from September 19. Among those whose unavailability was announced were, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Finn Allen, and Daniel Sams. 

It was also announced that the Sri Lankan duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera will join the squad for the second leg along with Singapore-born all-rounder Tim David. For people who have followed the Big Bash League or Pakistan Super League, David’s name will ring a bell. But, before getting into the facts about the 25-year-old, it should be acknowledged that he will become the first Singapore national team player to play in the IPL. 

Here are some of the facts about Tim David: 

1. Playing style 

Tim David is a right-handed batsman with the ability to double down as an all-rounder with his right arm off break bowling. He is 6 ft 5 inches tall and his large built gives him a lot of muscular strength. He has batted at No. 3 for Singapore but has taken up middle order and finisher’s roles for his T20 franchise teams. He is a hard-hitting batsman known for his aggressive style. 

2. Born in Singapore, his father played for Singapore 

Timothy Hays David was born on 16 March 1996 in Singapore. His father, Roderick David, was an Australian-born Singaporean cricketer who played for the Singapore national cricket team. He was part of the squad which played in the ICC Trophy 1997. His father was an engineer by profession.

3. Growing up in Perth and having early success in cricket

After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Rod David shifted with his family to Australia. Tim was only two years old back then. The family lived in Perth where Tim grew up to love cricket. He started playing the sport seriously at the age of 8. At 19, he travelled to England to play in the 2015 Northeast Premier League where he scored 963 runs at an average of 53.50. He was the highest run-getter in that year. He didn’t find a lot of success in the U-19 circuit in Australia. 

4. Performance in U-23 helped him to a BBL contract

At the U-23 level, Tim became a better-equipped player and started performing. In the Western Australian circuit of U-23 cricket, he scored 411 runs in five matches at 45.66 in 2017-18, which landed him a contract with the Perth Scorchers. He made his debut on January 1, 2018, and scored 17 runs from 10 balls with two sixes. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to a stress fracture.

5. Getting dropped from Perth Scorchers and return to Singapore

He was always eligible to play for Singapore because he was born there. But the opportunity came after he had made his debut for Perth Scorchers. After his debut season in BBL didn’t go according to the plan, he was given a rookie contract by Western Australia. But, after the 2019 BBL, Scorchers didn’t sign him. Western Australia delisted him in April 2019. This is when he decided to shift back to Singapore to play for the national team. He had a strong connection with the country having travelled there regularly for holidays even after shifting to Australia. 

6. T20I record for Singapore 

He made his T20I debut for Singapore against Qatar on July 9 in the 2019 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Region Final. In only his third match, he smashed 77 runs from 43 balls against Nepal. A few months later, he played a crucial role in helping Singapore to defeat Zimbabwe in a surprising fashion in a T20I. He was also part of the team at the 2019 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier. At the 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20, he smashed 92 runs from 32 balls against Malaysia, with seven sixes and nine fours. Here are his stats in T20Is for Singapore: