World’s highest-ranked T20I bowler, Tabraiz Shamsi, recently signed a contract with Rajasthan Royals (RR) as the replacement for Andrew Tye for the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 that will be played in UAE from September 19 to October 15.
Talking about the contract, the left-arm spinner said that he was excited to play in the IPL, especially because he has never played in UAE earlier.
"…I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm not excited about (the IPL). I am very excited. Especially because I've never played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi," Shamsi was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"The IPL is a different thing. I have played in the past but I was a lot younger and I didn't get a lot of game time regularly. When you get regular game time, you can showcase what you can do. You can improve,” he added.
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Earlier, Shamsi had featured in four IPL matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and picked up three wickets from it.
He added that he was looking to get some ‘inside’ information about UAE pitches before he joins South Africa for the T20 World Cup.
"I'm really happy I got picked up in the IPL because I've never been there and played there. It will be nice if I can play on those pitches and get some inside information and gain some experience, just to be able to pick up some knowledge and information that might help us in the World Cup,” he said.
According to Shamsi, South Africa will do well in the T20 World Cup because of their bowling attack.
"...I believe we have one of the best bowling attacks in the world. All we need is a bit of game time. I'm not saying that because we've won a couple of series back-to-back.The talent in the squad is there.
We might be inexperienced at the international level but it doesn't mean that we don't have the skill. We showcased that against a very strong West Indies team, and against Ireland,” he stated.
He said that the South African fans were backing them to win.
"Nobody here wants to lose and I know the people back home don't want to see us losing. So we're pushing it. We just need a bit more time together. The more we play together the better we're going to get."
The 31-year old has played 39 T20Is and has picked 45 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6.79 runs per over.
(With PTI inputs)
