Shamar Joseph, the rising star of the West Indies, has been declared the Men’s Player of the Month for January by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Joseph marked his international debut for the West Indies in the first Test of the series, displaying his skills and leaving a lasting impact despite his limited experience in first-class cricket. His raw pace posed challenges for the Australian batters throughout the series.
In the opening Test at Adelaide, the young cricketer played a crucial role, contributing 36 runs at No. 11 during the West Indies’ first innings. His bowling prowess shone as he secured his first five-wicket haul in the series opener.
The 24-year-old fast bowler’s standout red-ball performance occurred in the second match in Brisbane. Despite suffering a toe injury from a Mitchell Starc delivery while batting and managing only one wicket in Australia’s first innings, Joseph persevered through the pain. In the final innings, he delivered an exceptional bowling performance, claiming figures of 7/68 and guiding the team to a thrilling eight-run victory, leveling the series at 1-1. Importantly, it marked the West Indies’ first Test victory in Australia in 27 years.
Joseph finished the series with an impressive tally of 13 wickets at an average of 17.30. His contributions extended to the batting department, where he scored 57 runs at a respectable average of 28.50. Recognizing his valuable contributions, Joseph was named the Player of the Series.
Following his remarkable display in Australia, Joseph secured his maiden IPL contract with the Lucknow Super Giants, signing for Rs 3 crore as a replacement for English pacer Mark Wood who pulled out of the lucrative tournament due to workload management by the ECB. Joseph has played only two T20 games in his career with no wickets to show far and an economy rate of nine runs per over.
He was a part of the Guyana Warriors squad that won the 2023 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title and played his only T20 games then.
