Shahbaz Ahmed Profile. It is said that cricket is a game that has the power to turn life upside down. The same thing happened with Shahbaz Ahmed. He was selected for the India squad for the ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe. Washington Sundar’s injury proved to be a blessing in disguise for the left-arm spinner and a middle-order batsman.
He comes from a small district in Haryana, “Nuh”, officially declared India’s most backward district by Niti Aayog. Shahbaz has impressed everyone with his skills and temperament after making his first-class debut in 2018.
He is currently associated with Bengal in the domestic circuit and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Shahbaz Ahmed’s selection to the Indian cricket team has made the entire town of Nuh rejoice and feel proud.
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Shahbaz Ahmed Journey
Shahbaz Ahmed’s journey in cricket has been very dramatic. He used to play with his father at the age of 4, where his dad threw balls at him, and Shahbaz would just play shots. His father, who works as a writer in a subdivisional magistrate’s court in Nuh, recalls incidents when he used to throw loose deliveries to Shahbaz so that he could hit sixes and the ball could disappear so that the game could stop.
His father got transferred to Hathin in Palwal district, where Shahbaz got the opportunity to train in a cricket academy and study at a private school. He did civil engineering at Manav Rachna university in Faridabad.
Studies did not make Shahbaz Ahmed deviate from his cricket passion. After he turned 15, he used to travel 15 km daily to attend coaching. He played in a lot of local tournaments in Haryana. But, did not get recognition from the Haryana domestic board.
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He eventually moved to Kolkata. In a regional club cricket tournament, “Tapan Memorial Club”, his good performance caught the Bengal players’ attention and team management.
Shahbaz Ahmed IPL
It was in 2018 when the CAB chief Saurav Ganguly saw a spark in his talent and asked the under-23 coach Sourasish Lahiri to consider him for the team. He made his first-class debut for Bengal in 2018 and subsequently was selected to play in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
IPL has already improved its economic condition by leaps and bounds. The first thing he purchased after his IPL earning was a new 42-inch tv, which he gifted to his grandfather to watch him play on the big screen.
His mother, a homemaker, is having a moment of her life, as many relatives are coming to congratulate them on his son’s inclusion in the Indian cricket team.
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The India Zimbabwe ODI series has only 3 matches, and it looks improbable that Shahbaz Ahmed would get a chance the playing XI. But, his selection in the squad indicates that he is undoubtedly in the scheme of things of the selectors, and it won’t be too late when we see Shahbaz Ahmed getting a chance in the playing XI.
