Amar Virdi
Personal information
Full name
Guramar Singh Virdi
Born (1998-07-19) 19 July 1998
Chiswick, London, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2016–presentSurrey (squad no. 19)
2022→ Somerset (on loan)
First-class debut26 May 2017 Surrey v Essex
List A debut2 August 2022 Surrey v Leicestershire
Career statistics
Competition FC LA
Matches 41 10
Runs scored 229 31
Batting average 9.54 5.16
100s/50s 0/0 0/0
Top score 21* 8
Balls bowled 6,903 300
Wickets 123 7
Bowling average 30.71 41.42
5 wickets in innings 5 0
10 wickets in match 1 0
Best bowling 8/61 3/38
Catches/stumpings 10/– 1/–
Source: Cricinfo, 23 August 2023

Guramar Singh Virdi (born 19 July 1998), known as Amar Virdi, is an English cricketer.[1] An off-spin bowler,[2] Virdi played in two Under-19 internationals for England against Sri Lanka in 2016.[3] He made his first-class debut for Surrey in the 2017 County Championship on 26 May 2017.[4]

Career

Virdi was the leading English-born spin bowler in the 2018 County Championship with 39 wickets.[5] He struggled with a stress injury to his back in January 2019, which kept him out of the opening weeks of the 2019 cricket season, and was asked by Surrey to lose some weight and improve his fitness while he recovered.[6] Surrey's director of cricket, Alec Stewart, called it "tough love".[7] When Virdi returned to the Surrey team in mid-July for his first match of the season he took 14 wickets in the victory over Nottinghamshire: 8 for 61 and 6 for 78.[8]

On 29 May 2020, Virdi was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] On 17 June 2020, Virdi was included in England's 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies.[11][12]

In December 2020, Virdi was named as one of seven reserve players in England's Test squad for their series against Sri Lanka.[13] In January 2021, he was also named as a reserve player in England's Test squad for their series against India.[14]

Personal life

Virdi is a practising Sikh.[15] His family originate from the Punjab, but his parents emigrated to the UK from Kenya and Uganda.[15] He grew up in a sporting family: his father represented Kenya in junior tennis and his brother introduced him to cricket.[15] As a teenager, he turned down offers of scholarships from private schools because he didn't wish to board, and because he had been playing adult cricket since he was 13.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Marshall, Ian, ed. (2017). Playfair Cricket Annual, 2017. Headline. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-4722-3256-4.
  2. ↑ "Amar Virdi: Surrey spinner believes he can win England Test place". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Amar Virdi". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Specsavers County Championship Division One, Essex v Surrey at Chelmsford, May 26-29, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Hobson, Richard (8 July 2019). "Amar Virdi substitute appearance for Surrey blocked by last-minute ECB ruling". Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  6. ↑ Scott, Neville. "Notts doomed as Amar Virdi leads spinning show".
  7. ↑ "Amar Virdi responding to tough love as Surrey seek improvement". www.thecricketer.com.
  8. ↑ Culley, Jon (15 July 2019). "Amar Virdi claims 14 wickets for the match as Surrey crush Nottinghamshire". Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "England Men confirm back-to-training group". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett left out as England name 55-man training group". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "England announce 30-man training squad ahead of first West Indies Test". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  12. ↑ "Moeen Ali back in Test frame as England name 30-man training squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer rested for England Test tour of Sri Lanka". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "India v England: Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer return to Joe Root's squad for first two Tests in Ahmedabad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Surrey's England graduates inspire Amar Virdi to set sights on higher honours". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
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