Malaysia is not a familiar name on the global cricket map, but this time a player from the country has created history. Virandeep Singh, a 26-year-old cricketer, has become the first player in the world to score 3,000 runs and take 100 wickets in international T20 cricket.
Though not widely known in world cricket, Virandeep is a prominent figure in Malaysian cricket. On November 25, during a mini SE tournament match against Bahrain in Kuala Lumpur, he achieved the milestone.
Entering the match with 99 wickets, he picked up three more to reach the 100-wicket mark. His 3,000-run milestone had come earlier in June, when he scored 36 against Samoa in the Asia Pacific Cricket Champions Trophy in Singapore.
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Malaysia also won the record-setting match. Bahrain posted 107 runs, which Malaysia chased down with one ball and four wickets remaining. Virandeep contributed 23 runs in the chase.
In the race to reach the 3,000-run and 100-wicket double, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza is the closest behind with 2,846 runs and 102 wickets—still 154 runs short of Virandeep. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi have both completed the 2,000-run and 100-wicket double in T20Is.
Shakib has retired, while Nabi, at 40, may not have many years left at the top level, making Virandeep’s achievement stand out even more.
