Shane Getkate

Shane Getkate, an Irish cricketer, born in South Africa (Natal), started playing cricket aged seven and rose through the ranks of junior cricket in the country starting from the Under-13 level upwards. A skiddy right-arm bowler with a quick-arm action, he is a clever bowler with a truckload of experience from his teens. He is also a reliable hitter of the ball lower down the order, making use of his strong forearms to lever some big hits with the long handle. His grandfather is Robert Getkate, who played domestic cricket for the Natal province in South Africa.

Getkate's moment in the sun was his 6 for 32 against Vanuatu in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup qualifier. Having diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome - a heat-related illness - during birth, Getkate collapsed on the field during a U-19 game after he suffered a heart attack in 2011 and was hospitalized for nearly two weeks. His dreams of playing cricket again were all but over. Such was his passion for the game that he went through a surgery post that incident and almost 8 years later, he made his T20I debut for Ireland against Oman on 13th February 2019 and became Ireland's 700th international cap-holder in the process.

He has also played for a junior Warwickshire side at the Under-15 level and has played for Malahide Cricket Club. Getkate made his T20 debut for Northern Knights in the 2017 Inter-provincial Trophy on 26 May 2017. He made his List A debut for Northern Knights in the 2017 Inter-Provincial Cup on 29 May 2017 and his first-class debut for Northern Knights in the 2017 Inter-Provincial Championship on the very day after his List A debut.

He was named in Ireland's T20I squads for the Oman Quadrangular Series and the series against Afghanistan in India in January 2019, his first major challenge on the international stage. Having showed good consistency in the limited-overs format, Getkete's ODI debut came calling in July against Zimbabwe where he produced a memorable performance - two wickets with the ball and scored the match-winning runs for his team. In the next two matches, he picked up two wickets each as Ireland swept the three-match series 3-0. With a few unique attributes in his bowling, and the ability to hurry the batsmen up, he adds another dimension to the Irish attack and is likely to do well if nurtured and managed well.

Written by Rishi Roy and Sriram AS