Ganguly further said, ‘He is looking a great player. He must have some special talent. Why are you not thinking of giving him a chance in the next match? And this is where Shahbaz Ahmed started making his mark in the Indian cricket world. Shahbaz of Haryana’s Mewat region has been included in the Indian team in place of injured Washington Sundar.
“We were having dinner at the CAB on the occasion of Independence Day only yesterday and Dada laughed at me and said, ‘Remember what I said’,” Lahiri said. You cannot question his ability to test.’
Lahiri said that Shahbaz scored about 1000 runs in every session after that and took 50 wickets.
Lahiri said, ‘Shahbaz had proved his talent at the club level itself. At that time, Tapan Memorial Club could not compete with clubs like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal or Kalighat, but with the arrival of Shahbaz, the situation changed.
This success of Shahbaz continued in the Ranji Trophy. His batting average of 41 in first class and 47 in List A matches makes him special. He caught the attention of the national selectors by performing well under pressure for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In a release issued by the CAB, he said, ‘Everyone who plays cricket wants to wear the jersey of the Indian team. Being called to the Indian team is a dream come true. Whenever I have played for Bengal, I have given my everything. The Bengal team had faith in me.
Shahbaz, an engineering graduate, has taken 57 first-class wickets at domestic level, 24 in List A and 39 in T20Is, helping him work with legends like Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Mike Hesson in two seasons for RCB. It has helped them a lot in improving.