Player profile: Shiraz Perumal (Clifton College)
Clifton College cricket captain Shiraz Perumal heads into 2026 aiming to emulate or even better a spectacular showing in 2025, which brought the leg-spinner a school record 95 wickets.
In his Grade 10 year, Perumal set a school record with 62 wickets. In Grade 11, last year, he shattered it, and it is doubtful that any player returning to school in 2026 matched his huge wicket haul.
He made his 1st XI debut in grade nine and was immediately up for the challenge, Clifton’s Director of Cricket and first team coach, Brandon Scullard, recalled: “In August [of that year], when he was in grade nine, one of our better spinners got injured. Two days before we departed on tour to St David’s for the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, I called him up.
“He was superb, so much so that on the last day of the festival against KES, he bowled an entire innings from one end. The KES coaches said they had not come across a leg-spinner like that the entire year.”
Don’t be misled by Perumal holding down an end, though, at St David’s, though. One of his strengths, which separates him from many other leg spin bowlers, is his attacking approach. “I’ve always thought of myself as a wicket-taker,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “Obviously, I can dot batsmen up, make them make a mistake, but it’s about attacking first, throwing the first punch.”
That mindset comes from the man who inspired him to change from being a pace bowler to a leg spinner when he was in primary school, the Australian legend, Shane Warne.
“I back myself,” the Clifton captain said. It’s that attacking mindset that makes Perumal a special weapon. “His number one strength is turning the ball. He’s not scared to get hit,” Scullard, a former Dolphins‘ fast bowler, said.
“If he goes for a boundary or bowls a bad ball, it doesn’t deter him. He is happy to throw the ball up and try to turn it. He has the courage to pitch the ball up and invite the batters to try and hit him.
“He has worked on his pace. He has become quicker, and his control has improved. He can bowl unplayable balls, and he has variations.”
That’s the thing about Shiraz Perumal. With the ball in his hand, his team almost always has a chance because he’s a strike bowler.
“I have never seen a player have such an impact on a cricket team – and I have coached [former SA u18 captain] Matthew Montgomery and others who have gone on to play professional cricket,” Scullard said.
“He’s won us games from unwinnable positions. He’s maintained that hunger for wickets and excellence. He is an extremely hard worker. He’s been a special talent to witness. I hope he pushes on after school.”
Perumal’s match-winning ability was to the fore at the Fasken Time Cricket Festival last year when he claimed successive six-wicket hauls for 12 wickets in the match in a win over Hoërskool Noordheuwel.
He is also half of a Clifton spin bowling duo with Blake Johnson, which performed magnificently in 2025. Johnson, a tall orthodox left-arm spinner, who represented the Dolphins’ u16 side, picked up 57 wickets, not far off Perumal’s previous school record.
“Blake and I have been bowling together for a while. He’s usually holding down one end, and I’ll attack from the other end. That’s basically our plan,” Perumal said. “But, if he’s doing well, then I’ll adapt my plans to complement him. He does a good job.”
Scullard provided further insight. He explained: “They are two very different bowlers. Blake bowls flatter. He is more economical, and he builds pressure. He can bowl with the new ball and adapt to all types of situations.
“They have played a lot of cricket together, and they understand each other’s roles. They are our biggest threats. They push one another, and they hold each other to higher standards.”
This year, both will take on even greater responsibilities as batsmen. Perumal, in younger age groups, proved himself as a batsman, scoring a number of centuries.
“I’ll try, as a captain, to do the best that I can, play my role, and now I’m batting in the top six. Last year, I was batting seven or eight. I have to have a change of mindset, so now I have to put a greater price on my wicket,” he said.
Scullard expressed his belief in his spinners’ batting. “Shiraz and Blake have ability. It’s about exposing them to batting up the order. It’s about exposing them to those types of situations. Over the past two years, they didn’t have to do that. They have to take it on now and step up. They’re prepped.
“We need to grow them as batsmen, and the only way to do that is to expose them. These boys are going to be stars, and I need to give them a platform.”
Shiraz Perumal previously played under his brother, Shahzaad‘s captaincy in the Clifton 1st XI. “He was a bit of an aggressive captain,” Shiraz said with a chuckle. “I am similar, but I am not as hard on the boys. I try to keep things positive.”
He also credited his brother, who, like Shiraz, represented the Dolphins u19 team and the Coastal Conquerors, for helping him to become a better cricketer. “He pushes me a lot. It’s always a competition between him and me,” he admitted.
“He helped me a lot when I was starting out in the first team.”
When asked to name Clifton players who have helped him to elevate his game, Shiraz again pivoted to Shahzaad: “My brother, and Tim Saulez, bowling to him in the nets. He’s a top batsman.”
When it comes to coaches who have guided his growth as a leg spin bowler, he identified two. “Mr Scullard has helped me a lot over the last three years. He has given me many opportunities, and I’ve practiced with him a lot. Also, coach Yash Ebrahim has helped me a lot.”
In 2025, Shiraz Perumal set the bar extremely high. It will be difficult to reach those heights again, but his instinct is to attack challenges, and that’s what he intends to do.
He would like to represent the Dolphins at the Khaya Majola Week again, turn out for the Coastal Conquerors at the CSA Cubs Week, and, hopefully, make the SA u19 side.
