Photo Credit: Sydney Thunder
Jason Sangha described being bestowed with Sydney Thunder’s captaincy for its KFC BBL|12 campaign as both a ‘great honour’ and ‘challenge’ to follow the example of the inspirational captains who have led the club.
The 23-year-old, whose resume notes he captained Australia’s under-19s; Randwick-Petersham’s Premier team as a teenager and is the current vice-captain of the NSW team, said he considered himself fortunate to have been influenced at Thunder by a series of extraordinary leaders.
“This means a lot,” he said. “I have been fortunate to have played under some tremendous leaders at Sydney Thunder, starting with Shane Watson.
“There have also been other quality skippers including Callum Ferguson, Usman Khawaja, and Chris Green. Each of them had positive impacts on the team, and something they all did well was they led by their actions – and that’s something I want to do.”
Sangha said he also found himself in the enviable position of having a pool of experienced players who he knows will support him.
“I’m extremely fortunate to have so much experience in this squad: Chris Green, Dan Sams, Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw, Sam Whiteman, and, of course, Dave Warner,” he said. “They’re all leaders.
“And I’m in good hands here because besides Sydney Thunder’s squad of players, we have an exceptional coaching and support staff.”
Sangha said he intended to embrace ‘leading by actions’ as his mantra as team captain.
“I’m not the most vocal person about – I’m a little bit reserved,” he said. “But I believe captaining the team comes back to leading by your actions.
“To add Thunder’s captaincy to my resume is nice, but what I really want is for it to note is Thunder brought home the BBL|12 trophy to western Sydney.”
“There have also been other quality skippers including Callum Ferguson, Usman Khawaja, and Chris Green. Each of them had positive impacts on the team, and something they all did well was they led by their actions – and that’s something I want to do.”
Sangha, who last summer topped Thunder’s run-scorer’s list with 445 at an average of 49.44 – and an impressive strike rate of 132.04 – said he and his teammates were looking forward to playing in front of the club’s loyal legion of supporters.
“It’s been a rough couple of years due to COVID because it restricted our opportunities to play at the Sydney Showground Stadium,” he said. “We spent a lot of our time in Canberra – where we enjoyed wonderful support – and then Melbourne.
“It is exciting because it has been a long time since we have had a Fan Day in Sydney, and an Open Training Session in Canberra. However, they are happening this weekend.
“We’re all looking forward to seeing as many supporters as possible at our Fan Day at Prince Alfred Square in Parramatta this Saturday (December 10) and at our Open Training Session at Phillip Oval in Canberra (December 11).
“Sydney Thunder’s supporters have always been so fantastic, and we can’t wait to play in front of them again. We’re keen to see a lot of supporters at these events – and at our matches – because they are such an important part of Thunder Nation.”
Head of Thunder Andrew Gilchrist said Sangha made a strong impression during the matches in which he was selected to captain the Trevor Bayliss-coached team in last season.
“Jason did an outstanding job as captain, and he is seen as an integral part of the future of Sydney Thunder,” he said.
“He has always gone about his role with the club in a professional manner; he has always been a positive influence, and Jason’s contribution to the team over the years has been noted by the coaches under whom he has played.
“Everyone agrees he has the traits needed to not only captain our team, but to captain it well. Jason finds himself in a supportive environment, and he leads a squad of teammates who have made it clear they want to see Sydney Thunder lead the way on-and-off the field.”
Sydney Thunder BBL|12 Squad
Head Coach: Trevor Bayliss
Contracted Players: Jason Sangha (C), Ben Cutting, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG), Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (ENG), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Usman Qadir (PAK), Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw (RSA), Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner (AUS), Sam Whiteman
Sydney Thunder BBL|12 Home Fixtures
Tue 13 Dec | Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars | Manuka Oval | 7:15pm
Fri 16 Dec | Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers | Sydney Showground Stadium | 8:15pm
Tue 27 Dec | Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat | Sydney Showground Stadium | 7:15pm
Sat 31 Dec | Sydney Thunder v Hobart Hurricanes | Lavington Sports Ground | 3:30pm
Sun 8 Jan | Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers | Sydney Showground Stadium | 7:15pm
Fri 13 Jan | Sydney Thunder v Perth Scorchers | Sydney Showground Stadium | 6:30pm
Thu 19 Jan | Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Renegades | Manuka Oval | 7:15pm
Name of Author: Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder is an Australian professional cricket team competing in the Big Bash League (BBL). Based at Sydney Showground Stadium, the Thunder, along with the Sydney Sixers, succeeded the New South Wales Blues from the defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash.
