- Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Tanveer’s father Joga Sangha belongs to a village in the Indian state of Jalandhar and shifted to Australia in 1997 and drives a taxi. His mother is an accountant.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AUSTRALIA this week picked an 18-member squad for the upcoming 50-over ICC Men’s World Cup scheduled in India between October 5 and November 19 and a surprise pick in the side was 21-year-old Indian-origin leg-spin sensation Tanveer Sangha.
While Sangha is yet to play an international game, it is believed that his choice was a strategic move in preparation of the marquee event to be held in the subcontinent which is known for its slower wickets.
Sangha was also picked despite the fact that he has remained absent from competitive cricket for almost a year now due to a stress-induced lower-back injury sustained the previous summer. His last appearance on the 22 yards was for Birmingham Phoenix against London Spirit in which he helped his side to win the game by remaining not out on 13 as the No.11 batter.
Dubbed as a rising star from New South Wales (NSW) and the Sydney Thunder, Sangha has made an impressive comeback and made it into the Australia squad for five one-day international (ODI) games in South Africa and a three-match tour of India.
These games could be a life-changing phase in Sangha’s career as a good performance will see him making the final 15-man squad for the world cup.
Sangha’s father originates from a village near Jalandhar in India’s Punjab state. Joga Sangha moved to Australia in 1997 for studies before settling in Sydney’s southwestern suburbs where his son was born in 2001. While the senior Sangha drives a taxi in Sydney for livelihood, his wife and the cricketer’s mother Upneet is an accountant by profession.
Sangha, who has played 28 T20 games so far, made his debut in the format for the Thunder in 2020 in the Big Bash League season that year. In 2021, he also made it to Australia’s T20 international squad for a series against New Zealand but did not get a game.
He made his first-class debut in October 2021 for NSW in the Sheffield Shield. His List A debut came the next month for NSW in the Marsh One-Day Cup. Last year, he was signed by the Phoenix but could play just one game.
Sangha also represented Australia A in an away series in Sri Lanka last year.
George Bailey, chief of the Australian selection committee, said Sangha’s potential for bigger achievements had been identified well in advance. Saying the leg-spinner had been on the selectors’ radar for a long time, Bailey indicated that the former was set for making debut in one of the upcoming international tours.
Aaron Hardie was another uncapped player who was picked in the Australia side.
The five-time champions left out Marnus Labuschagne, shattering his dream of representing Australia in the quadrennial event.
Australia’s ODI squad (to be reduced to 15 for the ODI World Cup in India): Pat Cummins (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
