Shahbaz Nadeem has decided to take retirement from international cricket and plans to shift his focus to various T20 leagues around the world.
Shahbaz Nadeem Announces Retirement
The left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem who played two tests for India has retired from international cricket and is set to play in the T20 leagues as he does not foresee opportunities in the national team.
While speaking about his retirement Shahbaz Nadeem said, “I realize I can’t feature for Team India anymore, as I’m not in the selectors’ plans, and there is a pool of talented youngsters waiting for their chance.”
“I would have continued playing if there were opportunities for me in Team India… However, I don’t foresee any change in the near future.
“Hence, I decided to retire from Indian cricket and try my luck in different leagues,” said the bowler.
Nadeem held the World record for one of the best bowling figures where he bagged 8 wickets in an innings in List A cricket for Jharkhand.
“I felt this is the correct time and there is no point holding a place in a state team for individual records. It’s better to give a chance to the youngsters.”
He got his test debut during the match against South Africa in 2019 at Ranchi where Kuldeep Yadav was ruled out due to an injury
He was brought into the squad less than 24 hours before the third test when Kuldeep complained of a shoulder niggle. He was playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Karnataka when he got his debut call. He was handed a test cap by the former captain Virat Kohli.
“I still cherish the moment and remember everything vividly. It was the best day of my life to debut in front of my home fans,” said emotionally.
He waited for two years for his next test appearance against England in 2021 at Chennai which is his last test.
“I’ve no regrets but as any other fellow cricketer I would have liked to play a few more Tests, then it would have been great for me,” said Nadeem
He was in lights when he grabbed an 8 wicket-haul in an innings from his 10 overs where he helped his side to fold Rajasthan for 73 in 28.3 overs in Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“There was moisture in the wicket. I just kept hitting the right areas and also got some help from the wicket en route to the feat,” he said.
From 140 first-class matches, Nadeem picked up 542 wickets including 28 five-wicket haul, and has best figures of 7/45. He also became the leading wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy in two seasons 2015/16 and 2016/17.
He played 72 matches for Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. He became one of the known players when he bagged 2 wickets for 16 runs during the match against Mumbai Indians helping his side to bowl out MI for 92 runs.
