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After completing the signing of Glen Phillips, Rajasthan Royals have announced the signing of No. 1 ranked T20I bowler Tabraiz Shamsi. The South African left-arm spinner will join the franchise for remainder of IPL 2021 and is expected to play a vital role in spin-friendly UAE pitches. Shamsi's inclusion comes as a major boost for inexperienced RR bowling line-up especially in the absence of Jofra Archer.
RR made the announcement on Twitter through a hilarious post where they added the images of all the famous celebrations of Shamsi - Bus drive celebration, magic celebration and shoe celebration. They also added an image of Akshay Kumar from the movie 'Tees Maar Khan' where the name of his character was 'Tabrez'.
Check out RR's cheeky post:
RR officially announce the signing of Shamsi
Just like what they did with Glenn Phillips, Rajasthan Royals officially confirmed the signing of Tabraiz Shamsi few minutes after creating the buzz around the cricketer. The left-arm spinner has notably come in place of Aussie pacer Andrew Tye who has been ruled out for UAE leg. "The world's No.1 T20I bowler will represent the Royals in UAE," stated RR on their announcement post on Twitter.
Will Shamsi prove to be the missing piece in puzzle for RR?
Considering the present form of Tabraiz Shamsi, there is certainly no doubt that it is a brilliant move by Rajasthan Royals ahead of second phase of IPL 2021. The tournament is set to be played in UAE where spinners are expected to play a major role. With the franchise lacking a quality overseas spinner in their side, Shamsi becomes a brilliant prospect for the Men in Pink.
The 31-year-old is an experienced campaigner in T20 cricket, having played 163 matches across the globe. Shamsi has 183 wickets to his name at an average of 22.42 and an impressive economy rate of 7.18. He was also a part of Oval Invincibles side in the recently-concluded 'The Hundred' where he took 7 wickets in 6 matches at an economy rate of 8.71.
RR could announce more replacements
Rajasthan Royals currently have six overseas slots filled with David Miller, Chris Morris, Liam Livingstone, Mustafizur Rahman, Glenn Phillips and Tabraiz Shamsi. While there is no official information yet on availability of Ben Stokes, they would still have one slot left to fill in, with Jofra Archer also ruled out for remainder of the season.