Taxi Driver’s son, now in World Cup squad: All you need to know about Australia’s young Indian-origin leg spinner Tanveer Sangha

Australia announced their preliminary 18-member squad for the ODI World Cup 2023 on Monday, August 7. While veteran Marnus Labuschagne did not find a place in the squad, 21-year-old leg spinner Tanveer Sangha, with roots in Jalandhar, India, made the cut, surprising the cricket community. His father Jog Sangha works as a Taxi Driver in Sydney while his mother Upneet is an accountant. Notably, his father moved to Sydney back in 1997.

Talking of Tanveer, he became the first Indian-origin player to be selected for Australia back in 2021’s T20I series against New Zealand. The New South Wales (NSW) leg spinner also remained the highest wicket-taker for Australia in the U-19 World Cup. He has been a breakout in the Big Bash League (BBL) for Sydney Thunder with 21 wickets at an average of 16.66.

‘For me, it wasn’t cricket, cricket, cricket all the time’ – Tanveer Sangha

“I never watched cricket in India. I played kabaddi, volleyball, and wrestling. Here, we have wrestling tournaments in winter 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.

Tanveer impressed in Australia A’s tour of Sri Lanka. However, he has not played a single game for NSW in the summer due to a stress injury to his back. He attended the East Hills Boys High School, the same school the Waugh brothers graduated from. “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.”