Tabraiz Shamsi

Tabraiz Shamsi is a South African professional cricketer born on 18 February 1990 in Johannesburg. He made his international debut in June 2016 in the Caribbean and is widely regarded as one of the best bowlers in T20 cricket, being the highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals for South Africa. A right-handed batter known for his left-arm unorthodox spin bowling, he is also known for his passionate celebrations when taking wickets, and plays franchise cricket for the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League, the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 and the Adelaide Strikers in Australia's Big Bash League. ^{1 2 3}

Growing up, Shamsi initially played as a frontline seam bowler in school cricket competitions in high school. His coaches told him he was not quick enough to be a seam bowler when he underwent trials for the under-19 team, and suggested he become a spin bowler, as he also bowled a lot of cutters. ¹

Shamsi was the leading wicket-taker for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League in 2015. In April 2016 he was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for the injured Samuel Badree in the IPL and made his debut against Rising Pune Supergiants, taking 1 for 36 as Bangalore won by 13 runs. He was the leading wicket-taker in both the 2017–18 Ram Slam T20 Challenge (16 wickets in 11 matches) and the 2017–18 Momentum One Day Cup (26 wickets in 9 matches). In November 2020 he took eight wickets for 32 runs in a first-class innings against the Warriors, the best bowling figures recorded for the Titans in a first-class match. He has played first-class cricket for the Dolphins, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu-Natal Inland, the Lions and the Titans, was signed by Rajasthan Royals for the second phase of the 2021 IPL, and joined the Adelaide Strikers for the 2025–26 Big Bash League. ¹

Shamsi was named in South Africa's squad for the 2016 West Indies Tri-Series and made his One Day International debut against Australia on 7 June 2016. He made his Test debut against Australia on 24 November 2016, with Nathan Lyon as his first Test wicket, and his Twenty20 International debut against England on 21 June 2017. He was named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and after Imran Tahir's retirement from ODI cricket in 2019 he emerged as South Africa's first-choice spinner in limited-overs cricket. ¹

In March 2021 he topped the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers for the first time, after a three-match series in Pakistan in which he took six wickets. In September 2021 he took his first five-wicket haul in ODIs, against Sri Lanka. On 31 July 2022, in the final match of the T20I series against England at the Rose Bowl, he took 5 for 24; his fourth wicket in that match was his 65th in the format and carried him past Dale Steyn as the highest wicket-taker ever for South Africa in T20Is. He was named in South Africa's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, in which South Africa finished runners-up. ¹

His public significance lies in his record as South Africa's most prolific T20I wicket-taker, his spell at the top of the world T20I bowling rankings, and his highly visible wicket celebrations, which made his bowling a familiar sight to audiences across the IPL, the PSL, the Big Bash League and other franchise competitions. ¹

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