Who is Tanveer Sangha? 5 things to know about Australian leg-spinner who took 4/31 on T20I debut vs South Africa

Tanveer Sangha made a memorable T20I debut for Australia against South Africa in Kingsmead, Durban, in the first match of the three-game series on Wednesday. He registered figures of 4/31 in his four overs as the Aussies thumped the Proteas by 111 runs in the opening T20I of the series.

South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match. However, the decision backfired as the Australians posted an impressive 226/6 on the board in their 20 overs. Skipper Mitchell Marsh led the charge for the visitors with an unbeaten 92 runs off 49 balls while big-hitting Tim David contributed 64 off 28.

Australia then bowled out South Africa for 115 in 15.3 overs. While Marcus Stoinis impressed with 3/18, Sangha ran through the middle and lower order with an excellent four-wicket haul. The 21-year-old got the wickets of Proteas skipper Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, and Marco Jansen to stun the hosts.

In the wake of his memorable debut, here are five things to know about Sangha.

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#1 Sangha is the son of a taxi driver in Sydney

The 21-year-old claimed a memorable four-fer on T20I debut. (Pic: Getty Images)

The young leg-spinner is the son of a taxi driver in Sydney. His father Joga had migrated from Rahimpur Kala Sanghian, a village near Jalandhar in Punjab, in 1997.

According to a report in TOI, Joga was a farmer in Punjab and moved to Australia on a student visa. He worked on a farm before he started driving a taxi. Sangha’s mother Upneet is an accountant.

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#2 He is only the second player of Indian-origin to represent Australia at the international level

When he made his T20I debut on Wednesday, Sangha became only the second player of Indian origin to represent Australia at the senior level. Pacer Gurinder Sandhu was the first. Sandhu played two ODIs for Australia in 2015, claiming three wickets at an average of 35.66.

While Sangha made his international debut on Wednesday, he earned his maiden Australia call-up when he was picked in the 18-man squad for the T20I series in New Zealand in early 2021.

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#3 He attended the same school as the Waugh brothers

Sangha attended the East Hills Boys High School, whose alumni include the Waugh brothers - Steve and Mark.

The leg-spinner once told The Sydney Morning Herald about his school:

“A lot of people told me to go to a sports school I had friends that went to a sports school and had training after school, training before school and during school. For me, it wasn’t cricket, cricket, cricket all the time. I 100 per cent loved going to a normal public school. I could just chill out and then I could focus on cricket.”

Apart from the Waugh brothers, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ian Thorpe also attended the East Hills Boys High School.

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#4 He was the leading wicket-taker for Australia in the 2020 U-19 World Cup

The leg-spinner claimed 15 wickets in the U-19 World Cup in 2020. (Pic: Getty Images)

Sangha was the leading wicket-taker for Australia in the 2020 U-19 World Cup which was held in South Africa. He played six matches, claiming an impressive haul of 15 wickets at an average of 11.47.

The leg-spinner was Player of the Match for his figures of 5/14 in 10 overs, which included four maidens, as Australia U-19 bundled out Nigeria U-19 for 61 runs in 30.3 overs and registered a thumping 10-wicket win.

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#5 Sangha claimed 21 wickets for Sydney Thunder in the 2020-21 Big Bash League

Sangha, who was spotted by Australian-Pakistani leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed in Melbourne in 2018, excelled for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League (BBL) in 2020-21.

The youngster claimed 21 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 18.29. His best figures of 4/14 came in a match against Melbourne Renegades at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.

Sangha impressed in the 2021-22 Big Bash season as well. In 12 matches, he claimed 16 wickets at an average of 17.38. Overall, the 21-year-old has played 32 T20 games in which he has claimed 46 scalps at an average of 16.84 and an economy rate of 7.47.

Apart from T20 matches, he has also featured in eight first-class matches and five List-A games.