A left-arm chinaman bowler who has climbed into contention for South Africa by proving his worth in the shortest format of the game. It's not just his variations which are impressive, but also the accuracy along with those variations, and he becomes threatening when batsmen go after him. His big break came in franchise cricket, when Royal Challengers Bangalore drafted him in as replacement for the injured Samuel Badree in IPL 2016. Shamsi only featured in four matches all season and couldn't give a fair account of himself, partly due to some pretty harsh conditions for bowlers. He has since made his debut in all three formats for South Africa. However, the presence of an established performer like Tahir in the team, who is also a wrist-spinner, has meant that the opportunities for Shamsi are few and far between. Shamsi first started playing in the domestic circuit in 2009 for Gauteng, before moving to Kwa-Zulu Natal where he struggled for success, and shifted base again to join the Titans. The first few years didn't bring the impact which Shamsi must have desired. It was in 2013/14, when he finished as the third-highest wicket-taker with 47 wickets to his name, in the three-day Cup that he got noticed and claimed a more concrete position for the Titans. In 2015, Shamsi earned a contract with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots - the Caribbean Premier League franchise, where he ended up as the leading wicket-taker, helping him secure a deal with an IPL franchise. His celebrations - 'bus driver' and 'shoe call' - after he gets a wicket are quite popular. In a rather rare art, especially in South Africa, Shamsi plays for Paarl Rocks in the Mzansi Super League. In the inaugural edition of MSL, the wrist-spinner was the most economical bowler (6.30 RPO) in the competition. Shamsi was named in the 2019 World Cup squad - his first appearance in the mega event. Thanks to Tahir's presence, he found it difficult to make it to the playing XI. Shamsi was picked for two round-robin encounters in the multi-nation tourney, but the tweaker not only remained wicketless but was also expensive.