Indian spinner Shahbaz Nadeem said that he is now dreaming of playing for his country after breaking a two-decade old List-A bowling record with figures of 8/10 in a domestic game in Chennai.
Nadeem, 29, helped his state side Jharkhand register a big win over Rajasthan with his 10 overs of wily left-arm spin that included a hat-trick on Thursday in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s top domestic one-day competition.
“I consider this spell as another step towards achieving my ultimate dream of playing for India,” Nadeem was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“Alone in my room I am always fighting for a place. What else do I need to do to play for India?” said Nadeem, also a regular with Indian Premier League side Delhi Daredevils.
“But then, that’s when my father’s words come to mind - ‘if it’s written in your destiny, then you will play’ for India. This despite him being more desperate than me for the dream to come true.”
Nadeem surpassed the previous best effort of his countryman and former Delhi left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi, who achieved figures of 8-15 in 1997.
Sanghvi went on to play one Test and 10 one-day internationals for India.
Nadeem has played 99 First-Class matches, taking 375 wickets at 29.74. He has taken 124 wickets at the List A level in 87 games besides 89 scalps in 109 Twenty20 matches.
Former Sri Lanka left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas holds the ODI bowling record, having taken 8-19 against Zimbabwe in Colombo in 2001.
