Local boy Shahbaz Nadeem was handed his first-ever Test cap in the third and final match of the ongoing series between India and South Africa on Saturday at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) Stadium in Ranchi.
Left-arm spinner Nadeem was included in the squad as the replacement for Kuldeep Yadav after the chinaman spinner complained about shoulder pain on the eve of the final Test. Nadeem has been in the periphery of a national call-up for the past few seasons but luck did not favour him.
Big day for Shahbaz Nadeem as he is all set to make his Test debut 🇮🇳🇮🇳 #TeamIndia #INDvSA @Paytm pic.twitter.com/3hfYTaVyDL
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 19, 2019
However, after plying his trades in India A colours for some years and emerging as a consistent performer in the domestic circuit as well, the 30-year-old finally had the fortune to wear the all-whites of India and that too at his home ground.
Nadeem made his first-class debut at the age of 15 and have been in the domestic scenes constantly for the last 15 years. However, his name went straight into the door of the national team’s dressing room after the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season where the spinner picked up a staggering 51 wickets.
He was a part of the India A side that recently toured the West Indies last month. With 15 scalps to his name, Nadeem emerged as the leading wicket-taker for the Indian side in the unofficial Test series. He also had eight wickets to his name in the two four-day games against South Africa A before being called-up for the ongoing Test series.