West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph was welcomed by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year in a unique way. LSG took to X (formerly Twitter), posting a video of Shamar being asked about the Wi-Fi password of the room he was sitting in.
Shamar replied, "Toota hai Gabba ka ghamand (The Gabba's pride has been shattered), referring to India's famous win over Australia in Brisbane's Gabba stadium back in 2021, which marked Australia first loss at that venue in a Test after 32 years and a series win for India by 2-1. After Rishabh Pant hit the match-winning shot during a run-chase of 328 runs, commentator and former cricketer Vivek Razdan said these words, which has since then become an iconic piece of commentary in cricket, considering how hard-fought the series was for India due to absence of their key players, including Virat Kohli.
Notably, franchise's head coach Justin Langer was Australia's head coach during that loss.
Notably, Shamar was at the forefront when West Indies breached the 'Gabba fortress' of Australia again after three years, beating them in the second Test of the two-match series held in January by eight runs to level the series. The young pacer's toe was crushed by a scorching Mitchell Starc yorker while batting, but he came back to deliver an incredible spell of 7/68 in 11.5 overs, bundling out Australia for 207 runs in a run-chase of 216 runs. This was Shamar's debut series.
Shamar took eight wickets in total during the match and became the 'Player of the Match'.
Joseph capped off his remarkable month by clinching ICC Men's Player of the Month for January 2024 after making a sensational debut for the Windies in their dramatic Test series in Australia.
Earlier in February, LSG announced that the 24-year-old will replace English pacer Mark Wood for the upcoming season of the IPL.
The Caribbean speedster joined the Lucknow-based franchise for Rs 3 crores.
The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on March 22, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set to clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a South Indian derby at their home arena--MA Chidambaram Stadium.
The schedule till April 7 has been revealed as of now, with the remainder to be announced later because of the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls the dates for which are yet to be notified.
Last year's runners-up Gujarat Titans and five-time champions Mumbai Indians will square off against each other in a mouth-watering clash on March 24 at Ahmedabad. The fixture has gained a lot of hype because of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's move to his former franchise MI following two great seasons with GT, which saw him win the trophy with the side as captain in their debut season back in 2022. Pandya will be leading MI this time, replacing Rohit Sharma while Shubman Gill has taken over the captaincy of GT. On the same day, Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants will be starting their campaign at Jaipur.
Delhi Capitals will be playing their home fixtures at Vizag on March 31 and April 3 against CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium will not be available to host the matches just days after hosting the Women's Premier League final on March 17.
In what will be the first-ever double-header on March 23, Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals will launch their campaign against each other at Mohali while two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will get their campaign underway in Kolkata.