Less than 24 hours after landing in South Africa, leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha was handed his debut Australia cap during the first T20I against the Proteas in Kingsmead, Durban. Shipped into the playing XI after veteran leggie Adam Zampa fell ill, Sangha registered record figures to help Australia thrash South Africa by 111 runs. The 21-year-old’s 4-31 marked the best return by an Australian man on T20I debut in nearly two decades, only bettered by Michael Kasprowicz‘s 4-29 in Australia’s first taste to T20I cricket in 2005.

Sangha was in the hotel gym on Wednesday morning recovering from a long flight from the UK when he was told about his debut by captain Mitchell Marsh and the team management.

Who is Tanveer Sangha?

Tanveer was born to Joga Sangha and Upneet in Sydney, Australia on 26 Novemeber 2001. He completed his schooling from East Hills Boys High School in Panania, Sydney.

His father, Joga, hails from Rahimpur, a village near Jalandhar, India. Joga works as a taxi driver in Sydney, while his mother, Upneet, works as an accountant.

Tanveer made his T20 debut on 12 December 2020, for the Sydney Thunder in a Big Bash League game.

However, he first caught the eye of fans during the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where he claimed 15 wickets.

After an impressive debut season in the BBL, Tanveer received his maiden Australia call-up for the Trans-Tasman T20I series against New Zealand in January 2021.

Later that year, he made his first class debut for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield.

Tanveer is only the second player of Indian-origin to represent Australia at senior level, after pacer Gurinder Sandu, who featured in two ODIs in 2015.

Tanveer recently took part in The Hundred, where he represented the Birmingham Phoenix in three matches. The leggie has also been named in Australia’s preliminary squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.