As a youngster, Tabraiz Shamsi spent countless hours in his backyard in Joburg, playing cricket with friends and family, imagining he was walking out to represent the Proteas.
Last week, his hopes and dreams became a reality when he got a call-up from Cricket South Africa (CSA) for the Proteas’ One-Day International squad for their upcoming triangular series against the West Indies and Australia.
The spin-bowler was elated. “All those years of hard work and hours, and hours of burning in the hot sun on the field, boil down to that moment when you receive the phone call from the head selector.”
The Titans’ left-arm wrist-spinner was sitting in his hotel room in India, where he is playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League, when he was given the good news.
The 26-year-old immediately picked up the phone and called his family. “Everybody was really excited,” he says.
The former Parktown Boys and Jeppe Boys’ pupil will become the 116th player to represent the Proteas in the 50-overs format if he is chosen for the starting 11.
The ‘chinaman’ bowler will be joined by two other specialist spinners for the tour - Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso.
Tahir has helped him with his bowling over the past year, which “sped up my development as a spinner”, he says.
Shamsi got the opportunity at RCB after West Indies bowler Samuel Badree picked up an injury and was ruled out of the T20 tournament.
So far, Shamsi has managed to pick up three wickets in four games.
“Ive been fortunate enough to pick up some big wickets, so I’m pretty pleased about that. Bowling to some of the biggest hitters in the world, like MS Dhoni and Brendon McCullum, has been a lovely challenge and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed that.”
Shamsi says he’s also been learning a lot from his teammates at RCB. The Joburg bowler shares a locker room with some of the best cricketers in the world, including Proteas’ batsman AB de Villiers, West Indies’ hitman Chris Gayle and Indian batsman Virat Kohli.
“It’s great being in the presence of such quality players who have achieved great things in their careers.
“It serves as a big motivation to keep pushing to get better each day, and to some day hopefully also attain some of the things they have achieved in their careers.”
Shamsi says his experience in the IPL is bound to prove invaluable in his quest to become one of the best spin-bowlers in the world.
“I always had my sights set high. So whenever I used to bowl alone in the nets and work on my skills, I always pictured myself bowling to a guy like Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers and asked myself how would they have played that delivery, because they are the best batsmen in the business and I want to test myself against the best.”
Bowling against the world’s mega stars is a learning curve and Shamsi is excited to be on that curve.
“There will be days when things don’t go your way and you get smashed around the park, but that’s the beauty of playing against the best!” - Saturday Star