South Africa left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, currently the best bowler in the T20Is in the world, is going through probably his best bowling form. After troubling the West Indies in their home conditions, Shamsi wreaked havoc on the Ireland side in the first of the three-match T20I series.
Shamsi registered figures of 4/27 helping his side comeback after scoring a middling total with the bat and win the game by 33 runs. Shamsi was adjudged the Player of the Match for his performance. Later, taking to Twitter, he dedicated his performance to his son.
"This one was for you my son... Daddy just wants to make you proud," Shamsi wrote on Twitter sharing a picture of him celebrating a wicket. However, a racist fan replied to him alleging that he is playing for the Proteas ahead of off-spinner Simon Harmer due to his colour.
For the uninitiated, South Africa's national men's team has been required to include six players of colours of which two should be black African in the playing XI. But they do not need to have that combination every match, as the target is calculated over the course of a full season, to allow flexibility in selection. These new rules were reintroduced after the 2015 Cricket World Cup
"One Day Tell Ur Son The Story That I Got Selected In @OfficialCSA ahead of @Simon_Harmer_ owing to my skin colour. He will feel doubly proud," the user wrote.
One Day Tell Ur Son The Story That I Got Selected In @OfficialCSA ahead of @Simon_Harmer_ owing to my skin colour. He will feel doubly proud
— Muzzafar (@d_muzzafar) July 20, 2021
After which, Shamsi gave him a befitting reply saying that his son will know that his father played for his country because he was good enough to do so. "Dont you worry...my son will know his dad played for South Africa because he was good enough to play for his country! Through his hard work n his dedication to do his job honestly & as best as he could do it every single day (Simon is an exceptional bowler btw) #SayNoToRacism," Shamsi wrote.
Dont you worry...my son will know his dad played for South Africa because he was good enough to play for his country!
Through his hard work n his dedication to do his job honestly & as best as he could do it every single day
(Simon is an exceptional bowler btw)#SayNoToRacism https://t.co/DfmkNYZf54
— Tabraiz Shamsi (@shamsi90) July 20, 2021
Shamsi's response to the troll was appreciated by fans and experts saying that racism has no place in the sport.