“The man who made his debut with WG Grace” - Tabraiz Shamsi’s hilarious comment on Wayne Parnell’s comeback post 

South African left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi left a hilarious comment on Wayne Parnell's Instagram post, in which the latter shared his emotions on making a T20I comeback to the national side after five years.

Parnell featured in the 1st T20I of the five-match series against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday (June 9). Parnell’s last T20I was back in June 2017 against England in Southampton.

The left-arm pacer made a decent comeback, claiming the wicket of Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and finishing with figures of 1 for 32 from his four overs. South Africa went on to win the match by seven wickets, chasing down a record target of 212.

On Friday, Parnell took to his Instagram handle to share some pictures from his comeback T20I match. He posted the images with the caption:

“1800+ days and felt the same. 🇿🇦🔥🏏.”

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, Dale Steyn and Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana were among those who congratulated the Proteas bowler on his comeback. However, it was Shamsi’s cheeky comment that caught people's attention. He wrote:

“The man who made his debut with W.G Grace 😂😂 ...Good to have you back @parnygram.”

With his comeback, Parnell equaled the record for missing most matches between two T20I appearances for South Africa - 51. He shares the record with Heino Kuhn.

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Why Wayne Parnell went missing from international cricket

Wayne Parnell was among the South African cricketers who signed up for country cricket via the Kolpak system. The Kolpak deal stated that players belonging to countries that have a deal with the EU can participate in any cricket tournament in an EU country without being considered an overseas player.

This basically meant these players could sign contracts with English counties without being considered overseas players.

However, cricket players with Kolpak deals couldn’t continue playing international cricket. With effect from January 1, 2021, all Kolpak deals were canceled by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) with immediate effect due to Brexit.

Wayne Parnell returned to the South African fold. He became the first ex-Kolpak player to be selected by the national team when they took on the Netherlands in an ODI series last year, which was eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The left-arm seamer was also part of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in March this year. He had figures of 1 for 6 from 2.5 overs in the second match in Johannesburg when he walked off due to a leg injury.