'Over the top, unnecessary abuse' - Tabraiz Shamsi recalls abuse towards family after dismissing Suryakumar Yadav [Exclusive]

How many left-arm unorthodox spinners can one count? Kuldeep Yadav from India and Tabraiz Shamsi from South Africa. These are the two most prominent names going around, right? We think yes. And in order to dig deep into what it takes to be one, we got the South African international to our interview space, and he was more than excited to share his anecdotes.

Among a few he shared include facing online abuse, not just on himself, but his family as well. Shamsi advocates that online trolling and backlash for a cricketer should not be promoted on social media, since it intoxicates the feed, and also affects the mental health of a player. He also shared his all-time T20 XI, and did he count himself in? Read this exclusive chat to find out.

Excerpts

As a left-arm unorthodox spinner, you’re rare, expressive, and called an artist. How does that creative mindset shape your bowling?

Obviously, being a wrist spinner, it gives you a bit of freedom to try and express yourself on the field to try and figure out different ways of how you can help the team win the games, whether it's by taking wickets, by attacking, or maybe just strangling the batters. And I sometimes like to use my words as well in order to try and get into the batter's head. So maybe sometimes that can give an edge as well.

You took 5/24 against England in a T20I, becoming South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in the format. Did it feel like a vindication moment?

That was a great feeling to be able to take a fifer in a T20 international against a team like England, who're very, very strong in the whiteball formats. That was quite nice, a little bit of vindication as well, because throughout my career, I haven't really had a regular place in the team in the starting lineup. 
To be able to have that little period of a year and a half in which I managed to climb to the top of the rankings. And taking a fifer against England, that really was one of the most favorite moments in my career so far.

Imran Tahir was your early mentor; you’ve called him your match-winner. How did his guidance accelerate your rise?

Definitely. Imran Tahir has had a huge role in my career. Of course, he's been with me since the time I made my international debut. And the guidance, the tips, and all the advice that he's given me over the years certainly helped me become a better bowler a lot quicker than I would have if I were trying to do this all on my own.

And now I'm just trying to do the same for other spinners as well, because leg spin bowling is a difficult art. And oftentimes people don't understand. So Imran’s guidance definitely helped accelerate my growth. All the advice is because leg spinners are very misunderstood. A lot of people don't know how to manage leg spinners in their team. So it's nice having somebody that's done it before you, that has the knowledge to be able to help you. So I try and do the same with any young leg spinners that I come across. 

If the things that Imran Tahir said to me, what he learned by the age of 30, 34, he wants me to learn that by the time I'm 28 or 26, I would like to do the same. If there's a young leg spinner, maybe they don't have to wait until they become 28 or 26 to learn that. I would like to pass on that knowledge as well. And maybe they can learn those things by the time they're 22 or 24. So they have more years with that knowledge.

You dismissed Virat Kohli on your T20I debut—that’s one of your happiest memories. Can you walk us through that moment?

You know your debut wicket, you don't ever forget. And of course, I played with Virat at RCB before that. So we had a good relationship before that. And he was obviously the best batter in the world. So to be able to get that as your first wicket, that's a special memory that will stick with me forever. And in the ODI series leading up to that, I think he scored four or five hundreds against South Africa in the ODI series. So he was in red hot form. And to be able to get him out in that T20 game as my first wicket, at least it's a very huge wicket to take as your first one.

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You said learning from leagues like IPL and CPL mattered more than money—what’s the most valuable lesson you picked up?

A lot of people think it's all about money and stuff like that. But for me, I was a player that played in the IPL and the Caribbean Premier League even before I was selected for my international team. I got to learn a lot from the guys in those leagues, see how the guys train, see how the guys think. Being from South Africa, there's a certain way that we think about the game. But when you go to India or when you go to the Caribbean, you meet guys that have grown up in different structures and they play the game a different way. So to be able to speak to them and learn from them, you can always implement that in your game.

I think that's what you're seeing in in world cricket now. With more and more franchise leads, guys are picking up different things from players from other countries and implementing them. Whereas if we were only playing in our country, we would never know that there's a different way of doing things. So you see different things, you try them out, some of them work for you, some of them don't work for you. That’s the beauty, you can definitely become a much better player by learning from people from other parts of the world.

During an ODI series, you sledged Kohli, and he cheekily replied via the stump mic. What was going on in your head then?

I was definitely laughing. I'm somebody who likes to have a clever word or two with the opposition. And like I mentioned, Virat and I have a good relationship. On the field, whenever we've played against each other, he's somebody who likes to play aggressively and also show aggression towards the opposition. And I'm the same.

So people might see us having a go at each other on the field, but off the field, we have a great relationship. And on the field, those are the things that count. And I think I was facing Kuldeep or somebody else. There was a spinner, and I came out to bat with a chest pad on. So he was teasing me and saying, “why do I have a chest pad on when I'm facing a spinner?”

But I'm not crazy because I think it was either just with Bumrah or another fast bowler that still had some overs left. And there's no way I was going to face them without a chest pad. So, yeah, it's just a bit of jokes and a bit of banter.  If you look back whenever Virat and I have played against each other, we've always been aggressive towards each other, but that's only on the field, because off the field, we have a great relationship, and it's nice to play hard, competitive cricket against your friends.

You celebrated dismissals like a magician, literally. What’s the story behind your iconic celebration?

So, before cricket became serious for me, up until probably under-15 or under-17s, I genuinely wanted to become a magician. It was a hobby of mine when I was young, and it was something that I would have liked to pursue. But then cricket took over, and it's something that I enjoy doing, just the amazement, the way magicians can completely bamboozle people and make things appear out of nowhere or make things disappear.

Just the look that magicians can put on people's faces in amazement, that's something that's always fascinated me. I decided to join the two. Doing some magic tricks is my hobby, and cricket is my passion and my job. I just decided to join the two and have some fun on the field.

In franchise cricket, bowling to someone like MS Dhoni gave you confidence. What did that moment do for your mindset?

Yeah, so crazy enough, I was speaking to one of the younger guys in the Caribbean about three days ago about that very moment. So that was my first IPL game. And I hadn't played international cricket. I was not even a regular player for the first team back home in my state team, in my franchise team back home.

And people tend to put doubts in your head. They make you feel as if you're not good enough or your skill level is not at a certain point. And here I was, a young, inexperienced bowler that's bowling to MS Dhoni. And I remember having this moment. I was bowling to him in the game in Pune. And I just remember bowling two or three balls and I mean, MS was the best finisher in the world at that point.

And I just remember going back to my mark during my spell and thinking to myself, this is MS Dhoni that I'm bowling to. He's the best finisher in the world. And I'm handling myself. It's not like he's smashing me for a six every ball. So it was that moment in my career that sticks out to me, even today, where that was a turning point in my mindset, where I realized, look, I'm here in the biggest league in the world, bowling to the best finisher in the world, and I can handle myself. 

So the people that want to put doubts in my head and make me feel as if I'm not good enough, I'm just going to take that out of my head because that's definitely not true. If I can bowl to the best in the world and be able to handle myself, then there's no reason for me to believe the outside noise and people making me feel that I'm not even good enough to play first-team cricket back home. So that was really a big mindset shift in my own head. And I think that really propelled my progress after that.

You faced online trolling after your celebratory gesture for Suryakumar Yadav. How did you overcome that backlash?

I think that was a bit ridiculous. Not even a bit. That was way over the top, unnecessary abuse, because those were celebrations that I've done over my career. It had nothing to do with SKY. My shoe phone celebration has nothing to do with the batsman. It's basically, sometimes when we take wickets, the umpire calls the third umpire to confirm if it's out or not out. So it's just a fun little gesture for me to phone the third umpire and confirm that it's out or not out. So it has nothing to do, no disrespect towards the batter. And then the abuse afterwards, abuse towards my wife, and all of that on social media as well.

So that's really ridiculous. And people have to stop that nonsense because on the field, we're all trying our best. We're all doing our best. And there's no disrespect towards the batter. So I think that's really childish behavior. And that really needs to stop, especially when people start involving players’ families, and those things. That's absolutely ridiculous. And it doesn't make you any better. It actually makes you look like a clown. That needs to stop.

South Africa came so close to their first ICC title; what was going through your mind in the last over?

Look, obviously, that was a situation where that last over had become a bit difficult. But leading into that, of course, I think we needed 30 runs of 30 balls, which was quite a comfortable position. And then heading into the last over, of course, David Miller was our last hope there.

So I still had hope that he could pull it off because he's an amazing batter. He's been able to hit all the wonderful bowlers all over the world in the past. So I still had confidence that he could do it. But then, of course, once he was caught on the boundary, it looked difficult. And, yeah, I can't hide it. It was a really heartbreaking moment. 
But we have to move past that.

Even had we won that World Cup, there's the next one coming up. So you can't rely on that and be like, we're world champions and we don't have to work hard. I think when you become champions, you have to work even harder, or when you win games, you have to work even harder. So in that sense, nothing changes. But of course, it would have been nice to be sitting here with a gold medal rather than a silver. So it was really heartbreaking in that moment.

You looked emotional after the match. Can you share what was running through your heart when India lifted the trophy?

Yeah, look, obviously, I think every player that ever played international cricket dreams about winning the World Cup. And it's no secret that us, South Africa, we haven't managed to do it yet. Our Test boys tasted success now in England against Australia. So that's a step taken forward.

And this team has been evolving really nicely over the last few years. In the previous T20 World Cups, we were always getting closer and closer. And in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, we got to the semifinal. And then the T20 World Cup final, we made it to the final, and now the Test Boys have won it.

So you work so hard towards achieving that goal of winning the World Cup for your country. And you get that close in a position where you shouldn't have lost from, and then you lose the game. So that really all those emotions come out at the end because you're so close, and then you just miss it. But I guess the only thing you can do is pick yourself up and then try again next time.

Facing Virat Kohli in a World Cup final, how different was it compared to bowling to him in IPL or bilateral series?

I think it's no different. Virat is always intense. He's always a guy who wants to win the game for his team. He's always in your face. He is always wanting to be the guy to win the game for his team. So I personally enjoy it because we have a personal relationship. I understand him. He understands me. He likes to play aggressively. I like to play aggressively. 

So I think in that sense, we are both a bit misunderstood because what you see on the field is definitely not the type of people we are off the field. So playing against Virat is always amazing. It also forces you as a bowler to elevate your game because you know he's a world-class player, and you have to be on top of your game. So playing against a guy like him, definitely, it helps you improve your game as well because you can't be slacking because he can punish you if you're not on your game.

Dream T20 XI

Your all-time T20I XI

Chris Gayle, Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Imran Tahir, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Starc

Your dream top 5 all-time bowlers in T20 cricket

Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Imran Tahir, Adil Rashid, Kuldeep Yadav

Since you are famous for your theatrical wicket celebrations:

• Which of your celebrations do fans request the most—magic card, phone call, or something new?

Magic card

• If you had to dedicate a new celebration just for Indian fans, what would it look like?

Kiss the ground

• Who in your team has tried (and failed) to copy your celebrations?

Carlos Brathwaite in CPL

Which teammate would be the easiest target for memes?

I think Lungi Ngidi

Rapid-fire round

If you could ‘spin’ one rule of cricket, what would you change?

I will definitely allow more fielders outside the ring for spinners than fast bowlers.

Which Indian batter would you like to ‘spin out’ in every match?

Yuzvendra Chahal

If life had a spin ball, which moment would you want to replay?

Definitely, my international debut, I would like to replay that game.

Funniest teammate in South Africa squad?

Anrich Nortje

Who never pays the bill on team dinners?

Andile Phehlukwayo

If you could prank one Indian cricketer, who would it be?

Yuzvendra Chahal

Best roommate on tour—and worst?

Junior Dala - He was the best and the worst.

Wicket celebration or a hat-trick ball?

Taking a hat-trick

Bowling to Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma?

Bowling to Rohit Sharma

Magic trick on field or off field?

On the field

Wrong Answers Only

What’s your name?

Virat Kohli

The best spell of your career?

The last game in the CPL, where I went for almost 40 runs in three overs.

Which team do you play for?

I play for Australia

Your favourite food on tour?

Steamed Broccoli

Your dream wicket?

Lungi Ngidi

Which franchise gave you your IPL debut?

CSK

The secret behind your variations?

Watching videos of Brendon McCullum batting, that’s how I learnt bowling

Who would be last person you would go for fashion advice

Wayne Parnell

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