Shahbaz Nadeem is a fearless left-arm orthodox spinner who has proven his worth in both the domestic and IPL circuits. He is a natural wicket-taker who, if allowed more time in the IPL, has the potential to make an impact on the selectors.
Career
Domestic Career
Shahbaz began his cricket career with the ‘Bihar Under-14′ cricket team. In 2002, he was recognised for taking 9 wickets in a match against the ‘Sikkim Under-15.’ Later, he transferred to ‘Jharkhand’ in order to play higher-level cricket. Shahbaz then made his first-class debut in the ‘2004-05 Ranji Trophy’ at Jamshedpur, where he picked up two wickets in the first inning for ‘Jharkhand’ against ‘Kerala.’ His first-class debut was promising earlier this season, but he was hammered by Australia in the Under-19 one-dayers, and he only played one match in the Under-19 World Cup.
He was a key player with the ball in the 2015-16 Ranji season, taking 51 wickets to become just the 6th bowler in history to do so. To show that it wasn’t a one-off blip, he replicated the feat the following season, finishing as the top wicket-taker with 56 scalps, helping Jharkhand reach the Ranji Trophy semi-finals.
He was called to India Red’s squad for the 2018–19 Duleep Trophy in July 2018. Nadeem set a new List A cricket record in September 2018, when he took eight wickets for ten runs from ten overs in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Rajasthan and Jharkhand. In doing so, he even took a hat-trick of wickets. With twenty-four dismissals in nine games, he was the tournament’s top wicket-taker.
IPL Career
From the 2011 season onwards, Nadeem has been a part of the Delhi Daredevils (DD). Nadeem made a name for himself in the Delhi Daredevils squad during the 2012 IPL season, putting in strong performances. He was also nominated for the IPL Rising Star of the Year award, along with seven other players. Nadeem played 61 matches and took 40 wickets during his eight seasons with Delhi. Nadeem was traded from the Delhi Capitals to the Sunrisers Hyderabad side for the 2019 season for a fee of Rs. 3.2 crores after not having much playing time with the Delhi franchise. He only played three games last season and will be looking for a longer stretch this season.
Background
Shahbaz Nadeem, who was born in the quaint little town of Muzaffarpur, Bihar, was an early starter. He grew up in Siwandih, Bokaro Steel City, where he trained at the Bokaro Training Hostel. Javed Husn Ara Mahmood, his father, is a police officer.