In what can be interpreted as a thinly veiled warning to the batsmen of Australia and the West Indies, South African left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi said he finally unleashed his newly developed flipper during the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Shamsi, mystery spinner of The Unlimited Titans, took only three wickets in four matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, but he will soon return to the scene of his greatest triumph.
In the Caribbean Premier League in 2015, he captured 11 wickets at an average of 13.27. It included 4-10 against a top-order full of swashbuckling boundary bashers of the Barbados Tridents.
Shamsi is part of the South African squad that will play in six one-day internationals during a triangular series in the Caribbean also featuring Australia, the defending Cricket World Champs, and the West Indies, who recently lifted the ICC World Twenty20 crown for the second time in four years.
Shamsi admitted the flipper was under construction for about two years, and he decided not to bowl it until he is fully ready. He only recently utilised it while on duty in the Indian Premier League in 2016.
Asked about his philosophy and approach, Shamsi said he is a wrist spinner who bowls faster than most – between 85 km/h to 95km/h – and tries to master and regularly land his stock delivery on a good length.
He believes conditions in the Caribbean will be much more spinner-friendly than the flat batsman-orientated wickets in India where the grounds are small and the margins for error are limited.
“I think I could still bowl it quick and turn it appreciably,” he adds.
Titans skipper Henry Davids, who also featured in the Caribbean Premier League with Shamsi in 2015, says South Africa will probably field two spinners in most of their matches.
“They realised only later at the ICC World Twenty20 that they should have used two slow bowlers.
“It will be a case of South Africa fielding Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso or Shamsi.
“I do think Tabraiz possesses the character. He showed it in the Sunfoil Series last season. Only a few tracks gave the spinners a hint of assistance. He revelled in the conditions and his consistency has improved markedly,” he added.
Shamsi ended with 41 wickets at an average of 19.97.
Davids warned that the Australian and West Indian batsmen might be puzzled occasionally by the Shamsi-magic. “He possesses more than one googly, he also has a slider and is very difficult to read.
“Possibly at international level batsmen are better equipped to deal with his type of threat,” he added. (Super Sport)
