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West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph bagged a PSL contract with the Peshawar Zalmi side as a replacement for English pacer Gus Atkinson for the upcoming season. It came a day after Joseph bowled an iconic spell at the Gabba to help West Indies defeat Australia in a Test match after 21 years.
The 24-year-old pacer suffered a toe injury while batting on Day 3, which forced him to return to the pavilion as retired hurt. The injury couldn't stop him from fulfilling his destiny though. Shamar returned to bowl on Day 4 and picked up a sensational seven-wicket haul with his hostile fast bowling to derail Australia's chase.
Inspired by his effort, West Indies bundled out Australia for 207 and won the match narrowly by eight runs to level the two-match series 1-1. Joseph ended the series as the second-highest wicket-taker with 13 scalps from four innings, which earned him the Player of the Series award.
Shamar Joseph got instant fame after his phenomenal exploits on Australian soil. The 24-year-old received an opportunity immediately to play in PSL, one of the top cricket leagues in the world. He will be playing under the leadership of Babar Azam at the Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2024.
Fans took note of the development and shared their views on it through their posts on X. Here are some of the reactions:
"I would like to see Shamar Joseph play a lot of red-ball cricket"- Curtly Ambrose
Former West Indies pacer Curtly Ambrose was impressed with Shamar Joseph's match-winning performance against Australia in the Brisbane Test. He analyzed the youngster's bowling style and opined that he is similar to legendary Malcolm Marshall due to the skiddiness.
Ambrose said to The Daily Star in Dhaka:
"He is a skiddy customer, more in the mould of Malcolm Marshall. So, I hope that he remains focused, humble and continues to learn his craft and tries to learn and improve every single day.
"I would like to see Shamar Joseph play a lot of red-ball cricket. He has just started his career, so he needs to learn and understand what it takes to become a world-class fast bowler, and then you can always branch out to ODIs or T20 cricket."
Ambrose also believes the win against Australia will significantly boost the West Indies team's confidence in Test cricket and build on it. He continued:
"We sent a team where we have seven or eight [seven] young players who never played Test match cricket. To me, that was significant and that should do their confidence a world of good, and let’s hope they can build on this going forward."
Which team should target Shamar Joseph for IPL 2024 in case they need a replacement? Let us know your views in the comments section.
