MS Dhoni told me to stay away from too many experiments, reveals Shahbaz Nadeem

After 111 first-class matches and 106 List A appearances, the 30-year-old from Jharkhand had finally received the call-up to represent India. And at the end of it all, it was well worth the wait, as Shahbaz put all his domestic experience to use and produced two fine spells against the Proteas. After the match in Ranchi, India’s legendary ex-skipper Dhoni paid the team a visit to their dressing room and got chatting with the left-arm spinner. Incidentally, Dhoni was the one keeping wickets when Shahbaz made his first-class debut in 2004 against Kerala in Jamshedpur. 

"The wait was long but the result was sweet. I got the call just a day before the Ranchi Test. I was included as a back-up spinner. I didn’t have a clue that I will be making a Test debut for my country. I packed my bags and left for Ranchi. I reached late at night,” Nadeem said.

In the end, the script couldn’t have been written any better for Nadeem, especially given his role in India’s mammoth win to seal the series 3-0. Playing in front of his home crowd, he dismissed Temba Bavuma and Anrich Nortje in South Africa's first innings and then removed Theunis de Bruyn and Lungi Ngidi in one over in the second innings.

"I am happy with the way I performed. I waited for a long time for this opportunity and when I finally got it, I wanted to make every bit counts. I used all my domestic cricket experience," he added.