Alzarri Joseph started as a legspinner in his backyard in Antigua before his height marked him out for a different style of bowling. In his teens, he gained a reputation as one of the fastest bowlers on the school circuit, which carried over into the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, where he bowled the competition’s fastest delivery, a 147kph zinger that broke Zimbabwe batter Brendan Sly’s stumps. Joseph would finish as West Indies’ highest wicket-taker of the tournament, with 13 wickets from six games at an economy of 3.31.
He had made it into the U-19 World Cup squad on the back of his first-class performances – in his second season with Leeward Islands in late 2015, he took his first five-for, against Guyana, and followed it up with 7 for 46 against Windward Islands in the next match. His 24 first-class wickets that season and the World Cup performance saw him fast-tracked into the Test side; he debuted against India at Gros Islet in August 2016 and bounced out Virat Kohli for 3 for his first wicket. His ODI debut came a few months later, against Pakistan in Sharjah.
In 2019, Joseph was signed by Mumbai Indians as an injury replacement for Adam Milne, and in his first game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he returned figures of 6 for 12, the best figures by a bowler in the IPL.
Alzarri Joseph Profile
The thing with talent is that it demands a cool head. Deprive it of that and it goes haywire, sometimes snowballing into almost nothing. Luckily for West Indies, Alzarri Joseph possesses a cool head. Not the kind that stymies a pacer’s aggression, the kind that holds him in good stead even after success at an early age. Joseph shot to fame early. He led the side that won the Under-19 World Cup in 2016 and was also the quickest bowler in the competition. Tall, fast and blessed with an easy action, Joseph became the talk of the town.
Like with most young promising cricketers, there were demands to draft him early into the side. And those demands were met in 2016 when he was drafted into the Test squad against a visiting Indian side. A 19-year-old pacer announced his arrival to international cricket in style by dismissing Virat Kohli with a venomous delivery in just his third over. In the same year, Joseph made his ODI debut against another Asian side – Pakistan – in Sharjah.
Joseph sustained a stress fracture in his back in December 2017 during the tour of New Zealand and that forced the pacer to be out of international action for close to seven months. Post-recovery, Joseph took part in the home series against Bangladesh and then represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League. Joseph was initially named in Windies’ squad for India tour but was later replaced by Sherman Lewis as a Cricket West Indies (CWI) medical panel recommended that he should be allowed to continue his rehabilitation to full fitness for international competitions.
The Antiguan started his career with the club that his father was once a part of. Soon after he got into the age group cricket and tasted success playing for Antigua. Joseph, who idolizes Dale Steyn, learned the craft under former West Indies pacer Winston Benjamin. CWI awarded Joseph a central contract across all formats for the 2018-19 season in October 2018.
Alzarri Joseph Biography
| Full name | Alzarri Shaheim Joseph |
| Nick Name | Alzarri |
| Date of Birth/DOB/ age | Nov 20, 1996 (27 years) |
| Birth Place | Antigua, West Indies |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Scorpio |
| Profession | Cricketer |
| Country | West Indies |
| Cricket Role | Bowler [Right-arm fast-medium] |
| Father name | Alva Joseph |
| Mother name | Late Sharon Joseph |
| Married | Unmarried |
| Spouse or Girlfriend | Not Known |
| Children | Not Applicable |
| Education Qualification | |
| Religion | Not Known |
| Current Residence | Antigua, West Indies |
| Nationality | West Indies |
| Batting Style | Right Handed Bat |
Mitchell Starc Physical Statistics
| Height | in centimeters– 193 cm in meters– 1.93 m in feet inches– 6’ 4” |
| Weight | |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
Alzarri Joseph Career Stats
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 30 | 56 | 5132 | 3011 | 85 | 5/81 | 7/111 | 35.42 | 3.52 | 60.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ODIs | 66 | 65 | 3392 | 3054 | 108 | 5/56 | 5/56 | 28.27 | 5.40 | 31.4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| T20Is | 19 | 19 | 435 | 636 | 32 | 5/40 | 5/40 | 19.87 | 8.77 | 13.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| FC | 64 | 108 | 10045 | 5744 | 199 | 7/46 | 8/62 | 28.86 | 3.43 | 50.4 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| List A | 88 | 86 | 4381 | 3883 | 146 | 6/31 | 6/31 | 26.59 | 5.31 | 30.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| T20s | 101 | 98 | 2104 | 2982 | 121 | 6/12 | 6/12 | 24.64 | 8.50 | 17.3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Batting & Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 30 | 45 | 0 | 554 | 86 | 12.31 | 1018 | 54.42 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 23 | 13 | 0 |
| ODIs | 66 | 39 | 16 | 400 | 49 | 17.39 | 555 | 72.07 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 18 | 22 | 0 |
| T20Is | 19 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 14* | 26.50 | 53 | 100.00 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| FC | 64 | 96 | 13 | 1229 | 89 | 14.80 | 2091 | 58.77 | 0 | 5 | 131 | 48 | 24 | 0 |
| List A | 88 | 53 | 19 | 544 | 51* | 16.00 | 719 | 75.66 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 31 | 24 | 0 |
| T20s | 101 | 48 | 27 | 306 | 29* | 14.57 | 289 | 105.88 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 14 | 38 | 0 |
Alzarri Joseph IPL Auction Price History
| Year | Price | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.40 Cr | Gujarat |
| 2023 | 2.40 Cr | Gujarat |
| 2024 | 11.50 Cr | Bangalore |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Alzarri Joseph
- Alzarri Joseph is a popular cricketer from Antigua in the West Indies. He is a right-arm fast bowler and led the West Indies team to win the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2016, for which he was also awarded the Man of the Match trophy. He was selected in the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) under the Mumbai Indians franchise.
- He was good at bowling since he was a child. His father, Alva Joseph, a member of the Leeward Islands Cricket Club, encouraged him to get into the sport and often used to take him to practice among experienced players. He took him to Taddy Arrindell, a senior player of the Leeward Club, who told Alva that his kid was a natural and Alzarri would grow tremendously in the sport if he began to bowl fast.
- Joseph credits his success to Winston Benjamin, a former cricketer from West Indies, who taught him how to bowl and altered his bowling action, which made him patient and more focused while bowling.
- Alzarri made his first-class debut in 2014 for his domestic team St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the 2014-2015 Regional Four Day Competition. He played with renowned players of the West Indies and scored his maiden first-class 5 wicket haul in the series, opening the bowling with Gavin Tonge. He played his career best of 7/49 against Guyana in the same series, which helped him being noticed by the West Indies Cricket Board (CWI).
- In 2015, he was selected for the Under-19 World Cup squad of the West Indies. He took 13 wickets in 6 matches and was the leading wicket-taker for the West Indies and the third overall. His best performance of 4/30 in this series against Zimbabwe led him to be the Man of the Match. He was also the quickest bowler of the 2015 Under-19 World Cup. This performance led him to be selected in the West Indies National Team.
- In 2016, Alzarri was selected for the West Indies Test team and he was inducted into the team by Joel Garner, a former West Indies cricketer, who handed him the official cap right before the match, and then he made his debut against India. He started out in the third match of the series in which he took 3 wickets in the first innings.
- On 2 October 2016, Alzarri made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Pakistan for the second ODI of the series; taking two wickets in 10 overs.
- In December 2017, he suffered from a stress fracture during a tour of New Zealand in his back and was put on bed rest post-surgery. After 7 months, he returned to play for the West Indies against Bangladesh, but after a few matches for the national team and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, he was put on bed rest by recommendation of the Medical Panel of the West Indies so that he can return after being fully fit for international cricket.
- In October 2018, he was awarded a contract by the West Indies Cricket Board (CWI) for all formats of cricket for the 2018-19 session.
- In early 2019, in the middle of a match against England, he received news that his mother, Sharon Joseph, had passed away. After being given the news of his mother’s death, he completed the day’s game, and only then he went on home to mourn his mother. To everyone’s surprise, he returned the next day to play the rest of the match as he wanted to fulfil his duty towards his country.
- In 2019, he was selected by the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, as a replacement for their injured player Adam Milne. Alzarri was retained on the same contract as Adam Milne; as a replacement player cannot exceed the amount that was being paid to the original player.
- In his debut match in the IPL against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he bowled the best bowling figure ever in the history of the IPL by taking 6 wickets and giving just 12 runs (6/12), surpassing Sohail Tanveer’s record of having the best bowling figure (6/14) since the past 11 years.
Alzarri Joseph Social Media Accounts
| Instragram | Alzarri Joseph🇦🇬 (@alzarri_08) |
| Alzarri Joseph | |
| Wikipedia | Alzarri Joseph |
