Alzarri Joseph IPL Profile

Alzarri Shaheim Joseph is an Antiguan cricketer, who represents West Indies in all formats. Joseph was born on November 20, 1996, in Antigua and is a right-hand pace bowler and a right-handed batsman. Joseph began playing cricket in Antigua as a legspinner but his 1.96m towering height set him out for a new bowling approach.

Joseph made his first-class debut match in 2014 for the Leeward Islands against the Windward Islands. He soon established himself as one of the fastest bowlers and was soo picked for the U-19 West Indies squad for the 2016 World Cup in Bangladesh. Significantly, Joseph bowled the fastest delivery in the event, a 147kph zinger that broke Zimbabwe batter Brendan Sly's stumps. He also finished the tournament as his team's top wicket-taker with 13 wickets from six games. 

Alzarri's remarkable performance caught the attention of the selection committee for the senior team and was included in the West Indies Test squad for a series against India. He made his Test debut on August 2016 in the third match of the series and bounced out Virat Kohli for 3 for his first wicket. Joseph also played his first ODI match for the West Indies against Pakistan that same year.

Joseph became a part of IPL 2019 after Mumbai Indians roped him in as an injury replacement for Adam Milne. Notably, he made his IPL debut against the Sunrisers Hyderabad with 6/12. It was an incredible bowling achievement for a debutant as this the best bowling figure in IPL since then. The record was earlier held by Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir, who bowled 6/14 in the maiden IPL season in 2008 for Rajasthan Royals.

However, a shoulder injury soon after cut his IPL progress short as the Caribbean pacer didn't play any IPL game till 2021. Mumbai Indians released him before the 2020 IPL auction, where he went unsold. 2021 auction found him no takers as well before Gujarat Titans acquired him in 2022's mega auction and has been an integral part of the new franchise, who became champion in their maiden year.