Finally, 30-year-old left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem of Jharkhand has got the test cap. He has been included in India's final-11 in the third and final Test of the Test series against South Africa. He was included in the Indian squad a day after the unfurling of Chinaman 'Kuldeep Yadav'.
Shahbaz Nadeem has been given the opportunity as the third spinner at home ground in Ranchi. Apart from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Nadeem will be on the field to showcase his spin. Shahbaz Nadeem has been rewarded for his consistently good performance in domestic cricket. He has been included in the Test team as India's 296th player.
Nadeem has the distinction of taking more than 50 wickets in the Ranji season twice. He is only the second player to do so in the history of Ranji Trophy. He took 51 wickets in the 2015-16 season, playing for Jharkhand. After this, he took 56 wickets in the next season - 2016-17. Before that Hyderabad spinner, Kanwaljit Singh took 51 wickets in the 1998–99 Ranji season and 62 wickets in 1999–2000.
Nadeem also has a world record. He broke the two-decade-old world record for best bowling in List-A cricket by taking 8 wickets for 10 runs against Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year. Then the left-arm spinner presented his claim to the national team.
List-A: Best Bowling Figures
- 8/10 Shahbaz Nadeem, 2018
- 8/15 Rahul Sanghvi, 1997/98
- 8/19 Chaminda Vaas, 2001/02
- 8/20 Tharaka Koteheva 2007/08
- 8/21 Michael Holding, 1988
Nadeem was included in the T20 squad during the West Indies tour of India last year but did not get a chance in the final-11. Now he has made a debut for the Indian team in his home stadium.
He returned to his home from Kolkata after playing for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Only after that, he got the news of calling in Team India. Jharkhand was a part of Group A in the tournament, but could not qualify for the knockout.
The 30-year-old Nadeem has so far taken 424 wickets in 110 first-class matches at an average of 28.59. He took 145 wickets in 106 List A matches, while he took 98 wickets in 117 T20 matches, including 42 wickets in the IPL.