Who Is Shadley van Schalkwyk? Knight Riders And USA Pacer Who Dismissed Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma To Stun India
USA pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk stunned Indian fans across the world on Saturday as he scalped three wickets in one over against India at the T20 World Cup
USA pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk stunned Indian fans across the world on Saturday as he scalped three wickets in one over against India at the T20 World Cup. Courtesy of his exploits, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side was off to one of their worst starts in a T20 innings, reaching 46/4 in the Powerplay. Tournament favourites India would not have expected such a start to their campaign, once again highlighting how unpredictable the format can be.
After Ali Khan drew first blood by dismissing Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck in the second over, van Schalkwyk produced a sensational sixth over, dismissing Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube.
Van Schalkwyk is a South African-born player who studied at Wynberg Boys' High School, the same institution attended by Jacques Kallis. He played domestic cricket in South Africa and represented Western Province in 2008. In the 2020s, he moved to the USA and was part of their 2024 T20 World Cup squad as well. In Major League Cricket (MLC), he plays for the Los Angeles Knight Riders, while he turns out for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20. Van Schalkwyk has played 13 ODIs and 14 T20Is.
USA skipper Monank Patel won the toss and elected to field first against defending champions India in their ICC T20 World Cup campaign opener at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
The Men in Blue begin their quest to become the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title against a USA side that surprised everyone in the 2024 edition by reaching the Super 8s, including a win over Pakistan and close contests against India and South Africa.
Monank, who spent his early cricketing years in India, said at the toss:
"We are going to bowl first. Looks like a good surface. High-scoring ground, so we will look to chase it down. The World Cup is one of the biggest stages for us. A lot of expectations from the US, so we will look to do well. We played a couple of warm-up games at the DY Patil and we had a good run there. We have six batters, two all-rounders and three bowlers."
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav said they were also looking to bat first. He confirmed that wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, all-rounder Washington Sundar and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah miss out. Mohammed Siraj, included as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana, comes into the playing XI. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan will open the innings.
Suryakumar said:
"We were looking to bat first. The wicket looks good, there is wind around, so we do not expect dew. It is lively even before the game starts, and I am sure it is going to be even better. We have Washi missing out, Sanju missing out. Unfortunately, Bumrah is not well, so Siraj is playing."
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