Shamar Joseph

Profile details

FULL NAME

Shamar Joseph

TEAMS

Gulf Giants

The Gabba hero

Shamar Joseph's story is the stuff of legend: a security guard from Baracara, a small village in Guyana, who took up fast bowling late, was spotted in a trial, and within a year was playing Test cricket for West Indies. In his second Test, at the Gabba in January 2024, he took 7 for 68 in the second innings — bowling with a broken toe, after being hit by a Mitchell Starc yorker — to bowl West Indies to their first Test win in Australia in 27 years. It was one of the great fast-bowling performances in the history of the game, and it made him a star overnight.

• Role: Bowler
• Team: Gulf Giants
• Batting: Right-handed
• Bowling: Right-arm fast
• Born: 31 August 1999

Since then he has played in the IPL for Lucknow Super Giants, in the Pakistan Super League, and in franchise leagues around the world, where his pace and bounce have made him one of the most exciting young fast bowlers in the game. The Giants paid $80,000 for him — a modest fee for a bowler of his reputation, and one that reflects his relative inexperience in T20 cricket rather than his talent.

The second Joseph

Joseph's role is to be the second fast bowler in the Giants' attack, behind his elder brother Alzarri, and the one who brings raw pace and bounce. He will share the new ball with his brother or with Blessing Muzarabani, and the three of them give the Giants a pace attack with real speed — the fastest in the league on paper. His T20 record is still developing, which is why the fee is $80,000 rather than $230,000, but his ceiling is as high as any bowler in the league.

His partnership with his brother is one of the stories of the season: two Antiguan brothers — Alzarri from Antigua, Shamar from Guyana, both West Indies quicks — opening the bowling for the same franchise. The Giants have bet their bowling on the Joseph brothers, and Shamar is the younger partner with the most to prove.

Raw pace, still learning the format

Shamar Joseph's T20 record is still thin next to his Test heroics, and that is the honest context for his Season 5: the Gabba proved he can bowl fast under the highest pressure, but the ILT20 will ask him to do it in four-over spells, at the death, against batters who attack from ball one. The Giants have paid $80,000 for the potential rather than the record, and the early games in Sharjah — where the ball can swing under lights — are the place to find out how quickly he adapts.

What’s next

The Giants open away from home, and the Gabba hero gets his first outing in Giants colours: Sharjah Warriorz on Sunday 22 November, in the afternoon in Sharjah.

• Match 2 — vs Sharjah Warriorz: Sunday 22 November 2026, afternoon session, Sharjah.
• Match 5 — vs MI Emirates: Tuesday 24 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 10 — vs Dubai Capitals: Saturday 28 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.

Qualifier 1 is on Tuesday 16 December, the Eliminator on Wednesday 17 December, Qualifier 2 on Friday 18 December in Sharjah, and the final on Sunday 20 December in Dubai.

See the ILT20 Schedule page for every fixture in the season. Results land on SialTV as they happen, with the points table updated after every match day.