Dayyaan Galiem made his SA20 debut for Joburg Super Kings last season and featured in three games.
SA20 is all about youngsters and fresh faces coming through and showcasing their superior talents against some of the finest players. The fresh edition is no different, with several new players across six teams. One of those young guns is Dayyaan Galiem, playing for Paarl Royals in the third edition of SA20.
A right-arm medium pacer who can score useful runs in the lower middle order, he has been around the domestic arena for a while and played all formats in South Africa’s local tournaments. He recently made the step up to the national team and could be one of the many all-round options that South Africa will consider in their limited-overs squads.
Galiem was part of South Africa’s U19 World Cup 2014 squad but was ruled out due to a knee injury with the team under Aiden Markram going on to win the title. However, his talent was too good to ignore, and once he was fit, he again featured in various U19 games.
Galiem played 22 Youth ODIs, scoring 506 runs at an average of 33.73 and a strike rate of 77.01 in 19 outings, including four fifties. Further, he snared 22 wickets at 29.90 runs apiece, with the best of 3/35.
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Dayyaan Galiem was soon promoted to higher levels after his heroics in the youth competitions. He first made his T20 debut in 2015 during the fixture between Western Province and Easterns in Benoni and snared two wickets in the game.
He has 723 runs at an average of 22.59 and a strike rate of 122.95 in 47 T20 innings, comprising two fifties. Additionally, Galiem has 48 wickets at 26.39 runs apiece, including a four-wicket haul.
He made his List A and First Class debut in 2016 and has been consistent across both formats. In FC, he has 1771 runs at an average of 31.07, with 11 fifties and a century, and 121 wickets at an average of 29.31, including two five-wicket hauls.
Meanwhile, his List A numbers are equally good; 856 runs at an average of 29.25 in 40 innings, including four fifties. Further, he has dismissed 55 batters at 29.25 runs apiece, with the best of 4/27.
After years of grinding in the domestic arena, Galiem finally got rewarded and made his South Africa debut against Pakistan in December last year. Initially, he wasn’t part of the squad, but an unfortunate injury to Anrich Nortje paved the way for Galiem to come into the side.
He made an immediate impact, snaring two big wickets of Usman Khan and Tayyab Tahir while conceding only 21 runs in his four-over spell during a high-scoring fixture, ending as the most successful bowler of the game. He didn’t get to bat in the contest but did enough to keep himself in plans for the future.
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Dayyaan Galiem made his SA20 debut for Joburg Super Kings last season and featured in three games. Unfortunately, he couldn’t contribute and remained underwhelming in all three fixtures.
He scored a solitary run and took a solitary wicket, which tempted JSK to part ways with him. Joburg Super Kings traded him with Paarl Royals, taking Tabraiz Shamsi in return.
The start hasn’t been ideal for Galiem in SA20 2025, for he conceded 46 runs in Paarl’s opening encounter against Sunrisers Eastern Cape. However, with immense potential and experience, Galiem will soon establish himself as one of the premium all-rounders in the league if given enough chances.
SA20 is South Africa’s premium T20 tournament and plays a significant role in players’ selection in the T20I format. Hence, Dayyaan Galiem, now 28 years old, must perform with both bat and ball to remain in contention before it’s too late.
The talent pool in South Africa is vast, so consistency becomes a key for all-rounders. It won’t take long for selectors to move on from him if he keeps failing in this tournament.
However, he has played just one match this season and hopes to get ample matches to settle in and show his true value. Given that Paarl Royals have a few all-rounders in their team, it will be interesting to see whether they stick with him or try someone new.
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