Shahnawaz Dahani: The rising star of Pakistan Cricket
Cricket in Pakistan is a culture. People have loved it for decades and sometimes cricket turns into a full-fledged war. The more talented the cricketer is, the more fun the game is. Similarly, Pakistan is blessed with a few cricketers who came from small-town but garnered love and attention with their performance, one of them is Shahnawaz Dahani.
Shahnawaz Dahani Biography
Hailing from a small village in Larkana, Shanawaz Dahani is born on August 5th, 1998. Dhani is positioned as a Pakistani cricketer Right-hand batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler. He made his first-class debut on 25 November 2019, for Sindh, in the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He made his Twenty20 debut on 23 February 2021, for Multan Sultans in the 2021 Pakistan Super League.
A dreamer!
Growing up he loved to play cricket as any kid wished to. Since Larkana had fewer opportunities to play cricket in an organized way. He still gets to play Tape-ball cricket in his village. At the age of 10, he became more interested in cricket. Surprisingly, his late father was once against his desire to become a cricketer. He preferred him to make a career as a government officer. For that reason Dahani completed his educated, getting a BCom degree, before starting professional cricket. Unfortunately, Dahani’s father passed away a few years ago. His elder brother then pushed him to pursue his passion for cricket.
Achieving success in Hard-ball cricket
His move to hard-ball cricket was unique. The dream came true in 2016 when he was selected for under-19 for the Larkana region. His passion led him to prove himself. And he was picked to play for Larkana Region Under-19 in 2016/1. In that season he took 9 wickets in the 2-Day Regional Inter District Under-19 Tournament which was a good beginning for him and a very good introduction to the world of hard-ball cricket.
First-Class cricket
By 2019 he played enough crickets to step into First-Class cricket. And he was selected in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy Grade 2, where in 3 matches he took 9 wickets, with best figures of 4/70. Dhani was then picked as a white-ball specialist for Sindh and played in 2 matches in the National T20 cup, taking 3 wickets. And debuted for First XI for Sindh in 2019 and took one wicket against Southern Punjab.
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In March 2021, Dhani was named in Pakistan’s Test squad for their series against Zimbabwe. In June 2021, he was named in Pakistan’s Test squad for their series against West Indies.
Shahnawaz Dahani and Pakistan Super League (PSL)
Shahnawaz Dahani had perhaps the most vital debut in Pakistan Super League (PSL) history as he ventured onto the field for Multan Sultans as a bowler in their match against Peshawar Zalmi. Dhani got two pivotal wickets of Sherfane Rutherford and Tom-Kohler Cadmore in the 17th over and gave Multan Sultans a promising sign before things went south due to COVID-19. Moreover, Dhani at that point conceded 25 runs in the 19th over as Peshawar chased down the target of 194, enrolling their first success and climbing the PSL points table.
Furthermore, his performance in PSL 6 2021 is garnering a remarkable response. His performance as a bowler for Multan Sultan Franchise made him ‘Player of the Match’ on 13th June 2021.
He also often quotes that it is an honor for him to be coming from a place where there are no such opportunities in terms of a sport. Dahani has played domestic to national cricket and proved his mettle. It’s a matter of pride for his mother and his family who supports him now. He says, “I am thankful to the Almighty for all that I have achieved so far.”