Shamar Joseph bags ICC Player of the Month for January and pips Ollie Pope to Meta description: Shamar had taken the wicket of Steve Smith on his first ball in international cricket and claimed a sensational match-winning 7-wicket haul at the Gabba
The short career of Shamar Joseph is growing by leaps and bounds. A couple of days after gaining an IPL deal, the fast bowling sensation from the West Indies has won the ICC Player of the Month award for January. The right-arm pacer piped rival Josh Hazlewood and Hyderabad hero Ollie Pope to claim the award.
Joseph has had the makings of a star from the start. He began his international career by taking the prized wicket of Steve Smith on his first ball. He ended his maiden bowling inning with a five-wicket haul (5/94). He then scored a valuable 51 runs (36 and 15) in the match in Adelaide.
The fast bowler had already left everyone impressed. But what he did at the Gabba will forever be etched in Test cricket history. Coming in to bowl with a bloodied toe, Shamar Joseph cleaned seven of Australia’s last eight wickets and gave the West Indies their first victory in Australia in 27 years.
Since his Gabba heroics, he has received a central contract from Windies Cricket, a Pakistan Super League contract, and now an Indian Premier League contract within a space of just three weeks since making his debut on January 17.