Shahbaz Ahmed

His path to the top began in Mewat. Finding no openings in his home state, he relocated to Kolkata, and it was there that his bowling grew into the strongest part of his game. In 2016 he caught the eye of Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, who at that time headed the Cricket Association of Bengal. His rise to senior cricket followed quickly, and in the 2018-19 season he debuted for Bengal across all three formats.

The 2019-20 Ranji Trophy campaign was a breakthrough. Bengal finished as runners-up, and no Bengal bowler took more wickets that season than Shahbaz, who claimed 35 at an average of 16.80. He added useful contributions with the bat too, including four first-class fifties.

In the IPL, Royal Challengers Bengaluru signed him for INR 20 lakh before the 2020 edition, and the team sent him up the order several times. RCB brought him back for INR 2.4 crore at the 2022 auction, and he spent four seasons with the franchise in total. Before IPL 2024, a trade between RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad involving Shahbaz and Mayank Dagar moved him to SRH. That year he played a key part in Qualifier 2, making 18 runs and taking three wickets as Hyderabad booked a place in the final.

At the 2025 IPL auction, Lucknow Super Giants picked him up for INR 2.40 crore, though he appeared in only 3 matches for them.