Shamar Joseph - West Indies - Bowler

Not many can create such a buzz around the world on their debut series as Shamar Joseph did against Australia in 2023-24. With his blistering pace, he completely rattled the Aussie batters to claim figures of 7/68 and the Man of the Series accolade, as West Indies won a Test match in Australia for the first time in 30 years. That performance and that debut was something out of a fairytale for Shamar Joseph, who just a year prior was working as a security guard. Hailing from a remote village in Guyana that didn’t have Internet till 2018, Shamar Joseph honed his fast bowling skills using melted bottles and fruits as cricket balls.

Since bursting onto the scene with that dream debut, Shamar has suffered with a combination of injury and inconsistency. He was picked for the T20I squad for the 2024 World Cup, but didn’t get a game in that competition. He was also underpar in the only IPL game he played for Lucknow Super Giants, who picked him as a replacement player for Mark Wood. In the Caribbean Premier League, Shamar Joseph has been playing for Guyana Amazon Warriors since 2023.