Meet Tanveer Sangha, Taxi Driver’s Son From Sydney Makes Australia Preliminary Squad For ODI World Cup 2023, Father Hails From Rahimpur Village Near Jalandhar

Australia have called up 21-year-old leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha in their preliminary squad for the ODI World Cup 2023.

Tanveer Sangha. (Source: Twitter)

Cricket Australia announced their preliminary squad for the upcoming ICC men’s ODI World Cup 2023 in India later this year. The biggest surprise in the 18-member squad is the call-up to a 21-year-old leg-spinner who has his roots in Jalandhar in India.

Young New South Wales leggie Tanveer Sangha, who was Australia’s highest-wickettaker in 2020 Under-19 World Cup has earned his second call-up to the international side. Tanveer Sangha’s father, Jog Sangha, works as a taxi driver in Sydney. Joga moved to Sydney from his village of Rahimpur near Jalandhar back in 1997.

Tanveer’s mother Upneet works as an accountant. Tanveer Sangha became only the second Indian-origin spinner to be selected for Australia when he as picked in the 18-man squad for the T20I series in New Zealand back in 2021.

Australia's WC squad announced !
Thread ____
1. Tanveer Sangha
_ Leg spinner
_ Father was born in __
_ No international experience
_ Played only 5 domestic one day matches
_ Playing BBL since 2020
_ Age: 21#INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/3brP0cXr98 — The Cricket Statistician (@CricketSatire) August 7, 2023

Who is Tanveer Sangha?

Tanveer had been a revelation in the Big Bash League, where he has picked up 21 wickets in the group stage playing for Sydney Thunder at 16.66. “I never watched cricket in India. I played kabaddi, volleyball and wrestling. Here, we have wrestling tournaments in winters and Tanveer would often accompany me and play in the junior bouts,” Tanveer’s father Joga Sangha had told the Indian Express newspaper.

“When he was ten years old, we got him enrolled in the Ingleburn RSL Club to play cricket. I picked up and dropped Tanveer from our home in Ingleburn to the club and that meant I had to skip some of my taxi rides and work early morning or late at night,” he added.

The 21-year-old leg-spinner – who impressed during the Australia A squad tour of Sri Lanka in June last year – hasn’t played for NSW at all this summer after being diagnosed with a lower-back stress injury four days out from the Marsh One-Day Cup opener in September.

Tanveer Sangha went to the East Hills Boys High School, which has the Waugh brothers – Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh – as alumni. However, it’s not exactly a ‘sports school’.

“A lot of people told me to go to a sports school,” Sangha had told The Sydney Morning Herald. “I had friends that went to a sports school and had training after school, training before school and during school. For me, it wasn’t cricket, cricket, cricket all the time. I 100 per cent loved going to a normal public school. I could just chill out and then I could focus on cricket.”