Tabraiz Shamsi gears up to be a part of the South Africa squad for WC 2019

Shamsi is adding a couple of tricks to his bowling arsenal.

Shamsi eyeing to play in the World Cup 2018 | Getty Images

South African left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi is aiming to put up consistent performances in domestic circuit to make it to the Proteas squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after being excluded from the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 squad.

The 28-year-old further went on to claim that he can make a big difference to his team's chances at the ICC One Day International event to be held in England next year with his unique bowling as wrist spinners can play a big part in the tournament and for South Africa he is looking forward to take that responsibility. 

Shamsi told ESPNCricinfo, “I feel sad that I missed out on the Champions Trophy because I've never been to an ICC event before. My ambition is to put in consistent performances and go to the World Cup and do some damage in England. I don't want to just participate, I want to be somebody who makes a big difference in a big game and win it for South Africa. I firmly believe I will do something special at the World Cup, if I get picked.”

The wrist-spinner has been impressive with the white ball whether be it in domestic cricket, T20 franchise leagues or in international cricket, as Shamsi finished as the highest wicket-taker in both the one-day and T20 domestic cups in South Africa for 2017-18 seasons.

He further added, “It was very pleasing for me, personally. It was nice to see that I did well in conditions that didn't suit my style of bowling. The World Cup is coming up in England next year and the pitches don't really spin much there as well. Being the top wicket-taker (in the domestic competitions) has given me so much confidence.”

Shamsi also revealed that he is working on new tricks, “In addition to the conventional leggie, wrong'un and the slider, I work at changing my angles in the crease and changing my lines smartly. Those are also variations. Switching pace from slower to quicker is also part of the learning.”

He also said that spinners have their own impact in the South African squad than the past in the modera era, as the Proteas team was always relied on fast bowlers. “The spin department in the country looks much better than it has been before at any point. (Shaun) von Berg, and Tahir are leg-spinners.”

Shamsi signed off by saying, “I bowl left-arm wrist spin, Keshav (Maharaj) bowls left-arm orthodox, and there's Senuran Muthusamy with the A team, who also bowls left-arm orthodox. There's a lot of variety – it's all about utilizing them well. Over the years, South Africa have always relied on fast bowlers, and maybe we didn't have as many good spinners back then. But now I see a shift with many good spinners coming up.”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 10 Sep, 2018

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