Subhayan Chakraborty in Chennai
Shahbaz Ahmed emerged as the Player of the Match for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their crucial Qualifier 2 clash against Rajasthan Royals. He claimed three key wickets—Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Ravichandran Ashwin—while conceding just 23 runs in his four overs, helping SRH dominate the middle overs. Captain Pat Cummins and bowling coach Daniel Vettori played a major role in Shahbaz’s success for the Orange Army.
Shahbaz, originally from Haryana but playing professionally for Bengal, will face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final as SRH aim for their second IPL trophy. How did Cummins and Vettori transform Shahbaz into a match-winner for SRH?
“There were internal discussions within the team management about starting Washington Sundar ahead of Shahbaz, considering he hadn’t performed to his potential in the tournament,” Partha Choudhary, Shahbaz’s coach in Kolkata, told RevSportz. “However, Cummins and Vettori insisted on including Shahbaz in the playing XI due to RR having many right-handers in the middle order.
“Cummins and Vettori had a long session with Shahbaz before Qualifier 2. They were unhappy with his previous performances, particularly his tendency to bowl too full, which gave batters easy scoring opportunities. They worked on this, especially against players like Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, and others like Hetmyer and Powell.”
Shahbaz was first noticed in 2016 by Sourav Ganguly, then the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). Ganguly asked then-Bengal Under-23 coach Sourasish Lahiri to monitor Shahbaz. The Bengal selection committee quickly promoted Shahbaz to the senior team. Lahiri, now the head coach of Bengal’s senior team, praises Shahbaz’s game sense and determination. Interestingly, Shahbaz has featured in three ODIs and two T20Is for India.
“Dada (Sourav Ganguly) spotted him playing for Tapan Memorial in club cricket and recommended him for the U-23 Bengal team,” Lahiri told RevSportz. “However, due to some NOC issues, Shahbaz went straight to the senior team. He has won many matches for Bengal with both bat and ball. He’s a proper all-rounder who has represented India based on his performances for Bengal. He’s an incredible cricketer—gutsy and strong despite his fragile appearance. His game sense and ability to read the game are outstanding. I’m thrilled to see him delivering on a big stage like the IPL knockouts.”
WV Raman, the batting consultant for Bengal, has witnessed Shahbaz’s evolution into a top cricketer.
“What has changed in Shahbaz this season is his self-belief,” Raman told RevSportz. “He now feels he belongs on this stage. A lot of credit goes to SRH and their leadership for backing him. He’s always had the grit to rescue his team from trouble, as he did for Bengal. Against Rajasthan Royals, he read the pitch perfectly and bowled the right lines and lengths to the batters, taking three crucial wickets. This performance will give him massive confidence going forward.”
Notably, Shahbaz was traded to SRH from Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with Mayank Dagar going in the opposite direction. Shahbaz has scored 207 runs at a strike rate of 130 and taken six wickets with an economy rate of 9.92. While his overall stats might not be eye-catching, his impact in Qualifier 2 was a key reason why Hyderabad will be playing their third IPL final. Shahbaz will now face KKR, the franchise from his ‘home’ state. Will Shahbaz help SunRisers lift the trophy, or will Kolkata emerge victorious? All will be revealed at Chepauk on Sunday.