Sheldon Cottrell Underlines Aggression As The Best Way To Express Himself

West Indian left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell will experience his first IPL stint this year, a marquee tournament slated to begin from the 19th of September. Kings XI Punjab secured Sheldon Cottrell’s services for INR 8.5 crores and is indeed a smart purchase. As he gears up to headline Punjab’s bowling attack, Cottrell talks about his aggression.

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Sheldon Cottrell has been leading the West Indian pace attack in limited-overs cricket for more than a year now. He shone in the 2019 World Cup, taking 12 wickets, which was the most by a Caribbean bowler in the tournament. As far as T20s are concerned, Cottrell has 128 scalps in 95 fixtures at 19.76 apiece and maintains an economy rate of 7.47. He will likely share the new ball along with Mohammed Shami.

When asked what attracted him to fast bowling, Sheldon Cottrell underlined that aggression is something that drew him towards fast bowling. The 31-year old conceded that he has always been competitive and believes that aggression is the best way to express oneself as a fast bowler.

“Fast bowling chose me, to tell the truth. Growing up in Kingston and playing cricket in the streets, what got my attention towards fast bowling was the aggression. I was always a sportsperson and loved competing and aggression was the best of way to express yourself,” Cottrell told Hindustan Times.

“Courtney Walsh has been my idol from when I started playing” : Sheldon Cottrell

The Jamaican revealed that he grew up idolizing Courtney Walsh, who is West Indies’ highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. Being a Jamaican himself, Cottrell hailed Walsh as a superstar, who always appeared on TV. Sheldon Cottrell went on to recall a final of a junior tournament when his name came on the newspaper since he impressed Walsh. The left-arm paceman labels it as one of the highlights of his career.

“Courtney Walsh has been my idol from when I started playing. In Jamaica, while he was playing, he was a superstar. Where I am from in Jamaica, the only place you can see a superstar is on TV. We were playing the final of a junior tournament and my name came in the paper one day. It was only because he mentioned that I impressed him. We didn’t know each other, and for my idol to comment in a national paper like that is one of the highlights of my career,” he added.

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