Shahbaz Ahmed opens up on how his cricketing journey started because of one gloomy afternoon in 2003

Shahbaz Ahmed has been one of the standout players for the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the past few seasons and his all-round prowess has made him a valuable asset for the side. In IPL 2022, he proved to be an instrumental lower-order batter to get the wheels rolling for the Challengers.

Following the franchise extravaganza, he was also phenomenal for Bengal in the state tournaments and he went on to bag the elusive call-up for the Indian cricket team, showcasing impressive displays for the national team too.

However, Shahbaz’s journey stemmed from one gloomy afternoon when India was outclassed by Australia in the 2003 World Cup final, which sparked a genuine interest for cricket in the all-rounder. Shahbaz talked about it in detail on the latest episode of the RCB Podcast season 2, highlighting how life changed for him and influenced his love for cricket. 

Shahbaz said, “The final between India and Australia was the first game where I knew what cricket is, what is a World Cup and what are the emotions. I felt so bad when India lost the World Cup. The entire village was sad. That is what made me feel that what is the value of the Cricket World Cup for India and how important players are for a team.”

The RCB all-rounder continued on whether he wanted to be a batter or a bowler, adding, “I was always a batter since my childhood but with time and confidence, my bowling started to improve. The confidence kept on increasing and eventually when I arrived in the IPL, it made my bowling a lot better. Before that I never focused on my bowling that much.”