Tanveer Sangha's selection is the talk of the town in Australia and India. Sangha, 21, has been named in Australia's 18-man provisional squad for the ODI World Cup 2023. He was first selected for an Australian side for a New Zealand tour in 2021 but could not get a game.
While Sangha's last selection was based on his phenomenal performance in the 2020-21 Big Bash League (BBL) season, he has been picked from nowhere this time around as the leg spinner also features in Australia's squad for the South Africa tour alongside regular spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar.
Tanveer Sangha's father is a Taxi driver
Sangha is a person of Indian origin. His father Joga Singh Sangha came to Sydney in 1997 from Jalandhar in Punjab. He married an accountant Pavneet, another Punjabi Indian. Joga worked at a farm owned by a local Punjabi during the day and drove a Taxi at night to work his way through Australia. Tanveer's mother is an accountant.
Tanveer Studied at the same school as Steve Waugh and Ian Thorpe
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Tanveer is often confused as a relative of another Sangha- Jason, who also played for Australia Under 19 and Sydney Thunder, the two teams Tanveer has also represented. Tanveer also leveraged his schooling to go to a good cricket club. He studied in the East Hills Boys High School, where legendary cricketers like Steve and Mark Waugh and Olympic great swimmer Ian Thorpe were alumni.
How did this stick in Tanveer Sangha's fingertips?! #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/98vkMYyfF3
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 26, 2020
Mentored by Fawad Ahmed
At a young age, Sangha came under the tutelage of Pakistan-born Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed. Ahmed, who became an Aussie national after seeking asylum in 2012, saw young Sangha during an Under-16 series against a touring Pakistan side. He started mentoring Sngha since then. Ahmed played for Melbourne Renegades in BBL.
Emerged from ICC U-19 World Cup in 2020
Thanks to his brilliant skillset that he honed under Fawad, Sangha made it to the Australian Under-19 side. He was part of the team that played in the ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa in 2020. He took 15 wickets in only five innings of six matches and established himself as the next big thing for Australian spin bowling.
Phenomenal debut Big Bash season
One thing led to another, and right after the end of the U-19 World Cup, Sangha was offered a contract with BBL side Sydney Thunder. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands, picking 21 wickets in 15 matches during the campaign. He was the fifth-best wicket-taker that season.
Right after BBL, he got the call-up for the national team but couldn't get a game in New Zealand. Back home, he was selected for New South Wales (NSW) in both the Sheffield Shield (First Class four-day competition) as well as the Marsh One Day Cup (List A 50-over competition) squads but couldn't get a game there either in the presence of primary spinner Nathan Lyon.
However, his outing in the 2021-22 BBL, where he picked up 16 wickets and was the second-best spinner in the country behind Ashton Agar, found himself in the NSW playing 11. Sangha played six First Class matches that season and featured in three List A games as well, picking 17 and five wickets, respectively.
Sangha then toured Sri Lanka with Australia A and played two First-Class and two List-A matches against Sri Lanka A. He helped his team win in the second First Class match with a four-fer in the second innings.
Accident kept Tanveer Sangha away for an entire season
Sangha made forward strides and was selected by Birmingham Phoenix for the Hundred in 2022. He played one game in England and was gearing up for yet another season for NSW and Thunder. However, in September 2022, Sangha got injured.
"I was up in Coffs Harbour, and I felt a bit of soreness and awareness, so I got a scan to check it out and see how bad it is," Sangha was quoted as saying to cricket.com.au.
"I just wanted to know if I could prioritise my match bowling and calm down on training volume. But then I got the scan, and it turned out to be much worse than I thought," he added about the injury. This weird injury kept Sangha out for the entire season.
The World Cup selection out of nowhere for Tanveer Sangha
Sangha was called in as a replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga in the Major League Cricket for the Washington Freedom franchise. Though Sangha did not get a game in the league, he found himself drafted into Australia's ODI squad for the tour of South Africa and the World Cup provisional squad.
George Bailey, chief selector of the Australian cricket team, said that Sangha had been on the radar of selectors for the World Cup for quite some time. It's just that injuries held him back.
"His Big Bash form when he's been fit and playing has been excellent, so he's one that we're impressed with (his) character, the way he prepares and thinks about the game. The common comment around Tanveer is that he's very mature on the field and a great thinker about how he goes about it," Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
"He had an unfortunate injury last year, which meant that he lost a bit of game time, but the age he is and the skillset he has, I don't think that's going to set him back much. It's great that he's back fit and available to play, and looking forward to him getting some opportunities on this tour as well," added the former Australia captain about Sangha.
Australia World Cup provisional squad
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Australia Squad for South Africa ODI series
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa