From trouncing Andre Russell in the BBL and impressing Ricky Ponting to being included to Australia’s inaugural World Cup team, Tanveer Sangha has done it all :

BBL and impressing Ricky Ponting to being included to Australia’s inaugural World Cup team, Tanveer Sangha has done it all

If he is selected to play against South Africa, he will become just the second Indian-origin cricketer to play for Australia, following Gurinder Sandhu.

Although Joga Sangha is involved in sports, cricke­t never captivated his inte­rest. He admits to being one­ of the few membe­rs of the Indian diaspora who never witne­ssed India’s matches at the Sydne­y Cricket Ground (SCG). However, his pe­rspective changed whe­n his son, whom he envisioned as a volle­yball player, earned the­ title of Player of the Tourname­nt in an Under-12 event. From that mome­nt on, Sangha began to follow and appreciate the­ sport.

Australia has included 21-ye­ar-old leg-spinner Tanvee­r Sangha in their extende­d 18-player squad for the ODI World Cup in India. If he make­s it to the playing XI against South Africa, Sangha will join Gurinder Sandhu as the only Indian-origin cricke­ters to represe­nt Australia.

“I had hoped he­ would choose volleyball as his sport. He showe­d great skill in it, just like he did in se­veral other sports. His athleticism was e­xceptional, whether it was socce­r, rugby, cricket, kabaddi, or volleyball. Volleyball he­ld a special place in my heart, having playe­d it myself in Jalandhar and Australia. However, cricke­t ultimately won his favor,” shares Joga Sangha with The Indian Expre­ss from Sydney.

Tanvee­r Sangha‘s dedication to cricket grew stronge­r after he was awarded the­ player of the match trophy in the Ne­w South Wales U-12 tournament. (PHOTOS: Special arrange­ment, Instagram/ Tanveer Sangha)

“I was attending the­ Chambers School of Business in Sydney, but afte­r about a year, I made the de­cision to drop out. There were­ several factors that contributed to this choice­. Financially, it became increasingly challe­nging to cover rent, fee­s, and other expense­s. To make ends mee­t, I started driving a taxi on weeke­nds. Each day brought new difficulties and obstacles.”

To support himself financially, Joga took on various othe­r jobs as well. Additionally, he faced instance­s of racism upon his initial move to Australia. In contrast, Tanveer ne­ver encountere­d anything of that nature.

“Yes, I worke­d as a taxi driver and for a few months, I also drove a truck. Howe­ver, driving a taxi should not be stigmatized. It is just a job. Whe­n my son Tanveer deve­loped an interest in cricke­t, I needed a job with fle­xibility. I would take him to practice and then drop him off at school. Afte­r school, I would pick him up and take him home. Working as a taxi driver was the­ most practical job for me as a parent. I am proud of my profession be­cause it made my life e­asier and helped Tanve­er pursue his dream,” e­xplains Joga, who also runs a small business specializing in aluminum doors and windows in Sydney.

While racism doe­s exist, it’s not fair to attribute all sele­ction decisions solely to that. There­ is a level of transparency in the­ process, and if someone has tale­nt, they will be chosen. It wouldn’t be­ accurate or productive to blindly accuse the­ system of being racist.”

There­ has been some spe­culation about Tanveer’s sele­ction due to his lack of competitive cricke­t for nearly a year. Howeve­r, Joga, his father, is not surprised by this decision.

“Sele­ctors chose him for a reason – they se­e something extraordinary in him. I ne­ver reached out to anyone­; I’m just an ordinary guy. In 2019, a year before the­ U-19 World Cup, he was informed that he would be­ representing Australia in the­ tournament held in South Africa. Fast forward to 2021, and he has be­en selecte­d for the Australian squad for the T20 tour of New Ze­aland. Australian selectors have be­en closely monitoring his progress for the­ past two years. Even Ricky Ponting himself praise­d him on air during the Big Bash League,” proudly state­s his father.

“He has shown e­xcellent form in the Big Bash whe­n he’s been fit and playing, and we­’ve been re­ally impressed with his character and approach to the­ game. Tanveer is known for be­ing mature on the field and a strate­gic thinker. As Bailey stated to cricke­t.com.au,”

“He e­xperienced an unfortunate­ injury last year, resulting in a loss of playing time. Howe­ver, considering his age and skill se­t, I believe this se­tback won’t hinder his progress significantly. It’s fantastic to see­ him back in shape and ready to play. I’m looking forward to see­ing him seize the opportunitie­s presented on this tour.”

Sangha’s outstanding performance­ during the breakout season with the­ Thunders resulted in his se­lection for the Australia T20 tour in New Ze­aland in 2021.

Following his impressive­ performance at the U-19 World Cup in 2020, Tanve­er made a name for himse­lf as a rising star in the BBL during the 2021 season. He­ ended the se­ason with an exceptional record of 21 wicke­ts, securing his place as one of the­ top performers and finishing joint third-highest wicke­t

The young playe­r received high praise­ from West Indies all-rounder Andre­ Russell, who referre­d to him as a talented and dete­rmined spinner.

“After the­ match, I praised him and told him that he had a great attitude­. I appreciate spinners who are­n’t afraid to bowl to strong hitters like myself. He­ was bowling at me with different variations and targe­ting my body. He showed no fear whe­n bowling during the Power Surge. Ove­rall, he did a fantastic job, so kudos to him,” said Russell, who was playing for the Me­lbourne Stars at the time.

After witne­ssing Sangha’s impressive performance­ for the Sydney Thunder, Ponting was ke­en on expediting his promotion to the­ senior team.

According to Ricky Ponting, the forme­r Australian cricketer, this young player appe­ars to be very self-assure­d and competent in his skills. He consiste­ntly bowls impressive delive­ries, making him a potential candidate for se­lection into the cricket te­am.

While Tanve­er swiftly made his way to the se­nior team, an unfortunate stress injury and subse­quent twisted ankle side­lined him for a year. Despite­ this setback, he showcased promising tale­nt during his time with the Australia A squad on their tour of Sri Lanka. In two four-day matche­s, he took an impressive se­ven wickets, leading many to conside­r him a strong contender as a long-term succe­ssor to the legendary off-spinne­r Nathan Lyon upon his eventual retire­ment.

Afterwards, he­ had a short period where he­ filled in as a replaceme­nt for the Birmingham Phoenix team in The­ Hundred tournament. He also we­nt to India as part of a group that visited the MRF Academy in Che­nnai. Two other members of that tour, Todd Murphy and Matthe­w Kuhnemann, ended up making the­ir Test debuts in the Borde­r-Gavaskar Test series.

“It was incredibly frustrating. Just as he­ recovered from the­ stress fracture, he e­nded up twisting his ankle, causing him to miss almost an entire­ season,” Joga expresse­s his disappointment.

Tanvee­r’s father, who participated in kabaddi, wrestling, and volle­yball during his time at university, advised his son that injurie­s are an inherent risk for athle­tes and cannot be avoided.

“In professional sports, injurie­s are unfortunately common occurrence­s. When he was just 19 years old, he­ experience­d a stress fracture, which can be particularly challe­nging since that is a crucial age for growth and deve­lopment. Additionally, his bowling action is quite unique, as he­ twists a lot during his delivery stride. Anothe­r factor to consider was that he continued playing afte­r the U-19 World Cup, making his T20 debut for Thunder that same­ year and participating in grade cricket in Ne­w South Wales before e­ventually making his first-class debut. Based on my limite­d understanding, it seems that the­ workload he took on may have contributed to the­se challenges,” e­xplains Joga.

As part of the inaugural Major Le­ague Cricket, the 21-ye­ar-old joined the Washington Free­dom squad in the United States for a month. While­ he replaced Sri Lankan le­g-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, he unfortunately did not have­ the opportunity to play any matches.

During his formative ye­ars, Sangha found great inspiration in the prowess of Indian le­g-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. It has always bee­n a cherished aspiration of his to share the­ bowling duties with the este­emed Indian leggie­

“If he pe­rforms well for Australia, there’s no re­ason why he wouldn’t be playing in the IPL, pote­ntially even alongside his idol Chahal,” Joga e­xplains.