A world record that had stood for over two decades was wiped away by Shahbaz Nadeem, the Indian left-arm spinner, in a domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy game on Thursday, September 20.
Playing for Jharkhand against Rajasthan in the premier Indian domestic 50-over tournament, Nadeem picked up the first eight Rajasthan wickets to fall within his first eight overs. This included a hat-trick, spread over two overs, and with two overs left, he was in line for a nine- or even ten-wicket haul.
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The left-arm spinner picked 8/10 in the #VijayHazareTrophy and set a List A record.— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 20, 2018
That didn’t happen as he ended with 8-10, returns that comfortably topped the previous best for List A cricket, compatriot Rahul Sanghvi’s 8-15 back in the 1997/98 season.
Nadeem has been a domestic stalwart in India for years now and seemed to have done enough to be picked in the national team when he topped 50 wickets two seasons in a row in the Ranji Trophy: 51 in 2015-16 and 56 in 2016-17.
He might have entertained hopes of getting in for the Asia Cup once Axar Patel became one of three players to return home because of injuries, but the left-arm spinner was replaced by yet another left-arm spinner, Ravindra Jadeja.
“Earlier, these things bothered me. I’ve stopped thinking about it. I don’t think about who gets selected or dropped. My job is to perform and I believe one day my performance will speak for me and will take me ahead. Rest the almighty knows,” said Nadeem, who has 124 List A wickets and 375 first-class wickets against his name.
