Shabnim Ismail (born 5 October 1988) is a South African cricketer who made her debut for the national women's team in January 2007. A right-arm fast bowler, Ismail is South Africa's all-time leading wicket-taker in both the One Day International and Twenty20 International formats. She has earned a reputation as one of the fastest female bowlers in the world, with her top recorded speed reaching . She has played in every editions of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament since its inception in 2009. She has featured in ICC World Twenty20 on eight occasions in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2023.
During her early years, she was a second change bowler and later transformed herself to a frontline bowler leading the bowling attack from the front and usually opened the bowling. She has been a vital cog of South African bowling attack for over a decade. She usually open the bowling alongside Marizanne Kapp which is arguably considered as one of the best fast bowling combinations in women's international cricket.
In January 2021, Ismail became just the fourth bowler to take her 100th wicket in WT20Is. As of 2022, she holds the record for having taken the most number of wickets at a single venue in the history of WODIs with 24 scalps which she achieved at the Senwes Park, Potchefstroom.
On 3 May 2023, Ismail announced her retirement from international cricket.
Early life and education
Ismail was born in Cape Town and raised in Cravenby, which is part of the suburb of Parow east of Cape Town's city centre. She is the youngest of seven siblings, whose parents emigrated to South Africa from India.
According to Ismail, "Cravenby is a very sporting-mad town." In its streets, she played cricket, soccer and other sports with many other children, including her older brothers, her cousin Yaseen Vallie (a member of the Western Province cricket team and former national Under-19 player), and future South African international cricketers Vernon Philander and Beuran Hendricks. For the street cricket games, crates would be set up as makeshift wickets, and either an indoor cricket ball or taped-up tennis ball would be used, as a hard ball would have been too much of a hazard to the many nearby windows.
Ismail attended Cravenby Secondary School, a combined school that caters for primary as well as secondary learners. As a young girl, she was unable to play cricket at school, because the school did not organise any cricket. She therefore played football with boys. In her sixth year at school, a boys' cricket team was established, and she played in that team, wearing her football shorts. She has said that playing against boys made her stronger.
Ismail's mother and, especially, her grandfather were sports mad. They both encouraged her to play and watch cricket, and read cricket books.
One day in 2004, while playing football with boys, Ismail was approached by a woman who asked her whether she played cricket. After receiving a positive answer, the woman recruited her into the Primrose Cricket Club.
During her early days with the club, Ismail focused on batting, but did not like being dismissed. She threatened several times to quit the game. A coach suggested that she concentrate on bowling instead. Before long, she had been nicknamed "The Demon", due to her propensity for bowling bouncers.
Meanwhile, almost immediately after joining the club, Ismail made her debut for the Western Province Under-16 team. Soon afterwards, she was added to the Western Province senior squad.
After leaving school, Ismail worked for seven years as a speed-point technician, maintaining the credit and debit card machines used to make electronic funds transfers at point of sale. , she was studying to become a mechanical engineer.
Domestic career
South Africa
Ismail made her senior debut for Western Province in October 2005 (aged 17), during the 2005–06 season of South Africa's Women's Provincial League. She took 15 wickets in her debut season, the second-most for Western Province behind Shandre Fritz and Alexis le Breton. This was followed by 21 wickets during the 2007–08 season, which was the sixth-most in the competition. Ismail has played in the Provincial League's final on a number of occasions throughout her career. She switched from Western Province to Gauteng for the 2015–16 season.
In September 2019, she was named in the Devnarain XI squad for the inaugural edition of the Women's T20 Super League in South Africa.