West Indies' hero at Gabba, Shamar Joseph is set to feature in a couple of T20 leagues soon after his exploits in Test cricket in Australia. Joseph, who was a security guard and played only a handful of matches, made his Test debut in Adelaide last week against Australia and got Steve Smith put on the first ball of his career. It set the tone for what Joseph was going to do in Australia as it started with Smith's wicket and ended with Josh Hazlewood's which helped West Indies win a Test match Down Under after 27 years.
Joseph took 11 more wickets between those two and two fifers as West Indies became the second team after India in the last few years to win at Gabba and the first side to beat Australia in a day-night Test. Now, the 24-year-old will be seen in the ongoing International League T20 playing for the Dubai Capitals.
This signing was done before the Australia Test series and if that wasn't enough, Joseph will be seen immediately after the ILT20 in the Pakistan Super League. Joseph was signed as Gus Atkinson's replacement by Peshawar Zalmi since the England pacer is in India for the five-match Test series. Joseph was picked by Zalmi in the supplementary draft alongside the likes of Sufyan Moqim, Luke Wood and Waqar Salamkheil.
Joseph is not part of the West Indies' white-ball sides and hence is available to play in both ILT20 and then the PSL. Joseph might be the talk of the town and the franchises across the world would want to have a piece of him, however, the young pacer mentioned after his 7-wicket haul in the second innings at Gabba that Test cricket will remain his priority.
“This is my dream, to play cricket for the West Indies,” Joseph said after the match. "I’m not afraid to say this. I will always be available to play for the West Indies, no matter how much money comes towards me. I will always be here to play Test cricket," he added.
Zalmi begin their PSL 10 campaign against the Quetta Gladiators on February 18 in Lahore.
Peshawar Zalmi squad: Babar Azam, Rovman Powell, Noor Ahmad, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamir Jamal, Naveen ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Haseebullah Khan, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Mohammad Zeeshan, Lungi Ngidi, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufyan Moqim, Luke Wood, Shamar Joseph, Waqar Salamkheil
