Sheldon Cottrell

Sheldon Shane Cottrell is a West Indian cricketer who was born on 19 August 1989 at Kingston in Jamaica. He is a right-handed batsman and a left-hand medium fast bowler. His primary role in his team is that of a fast bowler. He is a Jamaican Defence Force soldier and is well known for saluting the pavilion after he takes a wicket.

Table of Contents

1. Career
2. Background

Career

Domestic Career

Sheldon Cottrell first came into the limelight in 2012, when he took 17 wickets for Jamaica in a four-day domestic level tournament. His exploits in the CPL earned him a spot in the West Indies A squad that toured India in November 2013 but he had to pull out of the tour due to injury.

IPL Career

Owning to his impressive performances in the T20 circuit, Cottrell’s dream of playing in the IPL reached the cusp of fruition when he was snapped up by Kings XI Punjab for a whopping sum of INR 8.5 crore. Interestingly, his base price was only $0.07mn (INR 50 Lakh).  The left-arm pacer can create difficult angles for batsmen and it will be hugely exciting to see how Cottrell handles the pressure and performs in his debut season.

International Career

ODI Career

Sheldon Cottrell made his One Day International debut against South Africa on 25 January 2015 at Port Elizabeth. In that match, he took away the wickets of both the South African openers in just 6 overs of his spell. He conceded 39 runs in the match and also scored 1 run after which the West Indies team won the match by 1 wicket.

He was a part of the 2015 World Cup squad of West Indies. After the 2015 World Cup, he took a two-year break from ODIs after the World Cup, and he returned to playing ODIs when he was selected for an ODI series against New Zealand Cricket on 23 December 2017.

However, Cottrell was an inconsistent performer and got dropped routinely from the West Indies national squad for being out of form. However, it all changed after the “2018 West Indies Tour of Bangladesh” in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Cottrell played exceptionally, and since then, the left-arm pacer has retained his form and place in the side. His performance also led him to spearhead the West Indies pace attack in the 2019 World cup.

The West Indies fast bowler, renowned for his trademark salute made a splash at the World Cup in England last year, picking 12 wickets at 8.25 apiece. 

T20I Career

Sheldon Cottrell made T20 International debut against England on 13 March 2014 at Bridgetown. In that match, he took the wickets of both of the English openers in two consecutive overs. He took 2 wickets in 4 overs after conceding 37 runs. However, the West Indies team lost the match by 5 runs.

In 2016, when West Indies beat England in the T20 final to win a historic second World Cup trophy, Cottrell had only a handful of international caps to his name, and was at home watching with his family. However since making his comeback in the international arena, Cottrell has spearheaded the T20I bowling attack of West Indies and continues to lead.

Test Career

Sheldon Cottrell made his debut in Test matches against India on 6 November 2013 at Kolkata. In that match, he managed to take only 1 wicket in 18 overs after conceding 72 runs. The West Indies team lost the match by an innings and 51 runs and he was later on dropped from the Test Squad. Interestingly, Cottrell’s debut match came in Sachin Tendulkar‘s last Test series.

Background

Prior to his career as a cricketer, he was a soldier in the “Jamaican Defence Force.” Interestingly, in 2011, he was in the army workforce, which was guarding the pitch during the fifth ODI of India and West Indies at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.