Shahbaz Ahmed

Shahbaz Ahmed was born in Mewat, Haryana, the most backward district in India according to a government report in 2018. He started as a batter, playing local cricket in and around Mewat, but the opportunities were limited. In 2015, he moved to Kolkata to try his luck in club cricket. That is where he developed his left-arm spin and transformed himself into an allrounder.

Based on his performances in club cricket, Shahbaz was picked for Bengal for the 2018-19 season. But his open stance, which had brought him success at the lower level, proved to be a weakness, especially in red-ball cricket. He was dropped after just two Ranji Trophy games but made a solid comeback next season, scoring 509 runs and taking 35 wickets in his side's run to the final.

Just before that, at the IPL 2020 auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore had picked him for a base price of INR 20 lakh. Over the next three years, he made useful contributions for them, with both bat and ball. RCB bought Shahbaz back ahead of IPL 2023, this time for INR 2.4 crore, but he failed in both departments that season and was subsequently traded to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Mayank Dagar.

Shahbaz's ODI debut came against South Africa in Ranchi in 2022. A year later, he made his T20I debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where India won a gold medal.