In this exclusive interview, he breaks down the difficult life of a wristspinner ©Getty
Wrist spinners are cricket's tightrope walkers. Millimetres this way or that and they reach terra firma in triumph. Millimetres that way or this and they plummet even as their deliveries soar out of the ground. Their margin for error is as big as the rope is thin, and they are more likely than other bowlers to put a foot wrong.
Tightrope walkers are also called funambulists. The Latin root of the word is ambulate, to walk. Tabraiz Shamsi reaches terra firma in triumph more often than his fellow wrist spin artistes, and while he's at it he is invested in the first syllable of funambulism.
"I like to enjoy my cricket; I like to have fun," Shamsi told Cricbuzz. "All our journeys shape us into the type of people we are and the way we work. Having gone to the CPL early in my career [in June 2015, almost a year before his South Africa debut] and experienced the way the Caribbean players are - laid back and chilled and having fun - made an impact on me. A player can be intense when they need to be, but when I enjoyed my cricket in the Caribbean was also when I played my best cricket. I've made a conscious decision to make great memories. Enjoying my cricket helps me play better.
"People may see it as a distraction. Maybe it's a distraction for them. For me it's a pressure release. When I take a wicket, I run around, I enjoy myself, I celebrate. It breaks the game down for me. You hear batters saying they refocus with every ball. They step away from the crease or they use a phrase that makes them refocus, because you can't stay switched on for 100 overs. Well, that's my break. When the new batter comes in, that's my way of starting again."
Shamsi fulfilled his mission statement in an
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