Quick Answer
Tim David is a Singapore born, Perth raised batter who has never played a single first-class match, yet became a 1.5 million dollar IPL signing and one of the most feared finishers in world T20 cricket. He stands 196 cm tall, which is 6 feet 5 inches, and that height is a big part of his six hitting power.
Across T20 internationals for Australia, he has scored 1,679 runs from 74 matches at an average of 34.98 and a strike rate above 168, with a highest score of 102 not out. In the IPL, he has 1,151 runs from 66 matches, and across all domestic T20 leagues combined, including the BBL, he has scored 6,488 runs from 324 matches at a strike rate of 163.22.
His path here is genuinely unusual. Western Australia rejected him as a senior state player in 2018-19, so he chose to represent Singapore, his country of birth, instead. Only years later, once his six hitting had made him one of the hottest properties in franchise cricket around the world, did Australia come calling. This article covers his complete career, format by format, plus his BBL numbers looked at on their own. You can follow more player profiles and match coverage on CRIC INFO 365.
Tim David: Full Biography at a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Timothy Hays David (Tim David) |
| Born | 16 March 1996, Singapore |
| Age | 30 |
| Height | 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | Not publicly confirmed |
| Batting Style | Right-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm off break |
| Playing Role | Middle-order batter |
| T20I Debut | 22 July 2019, for Singapore vs Qatar |
| Last T20I | 21 June 2026, for Australia vs Bangladesh |
| ODI Debut | 9 September 2023, for Australia vs South Africa |
| BBL Debut | 1 January 2018, for Perth Scorchers |
Teams Tim David Has Played For
| Team | Format / League | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | International (T20I) | 2019 to 2020 |
| Australia | International (ODI, T20I) | 2022 to present |
| Perth Scorchers | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2017-18 to 2019-20 |
| Hobart Hurricanes | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2020-21 to present |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2021, 2025 to present |
| Mumbai Indians | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2022 to 2024 |
| Lahore Qalandars / Multan Sultans | Pakistan Super League (PSL) | 2021 to 2024 |
| Southern Brave | The Hundred (England) | 2021 to 2023 |
| Surrey | County T20 (England) | 2021 |
| Saint Lucia Kings / Trinbago Knight Riders | Caribbean Premier League (CPL) | 2021 to 2025 |
| MI New York | Major League Cricket (USA) | 2023 to 2024 |
Tim David’s father, Rod David, also played international cricket for Singapore, representing the country at the 1997 ICC World Cup qualifier. The family had moved from Australia to Singapore for Rod’s engineering work, then returned to Perth when Tim was just two years old. He attended Scotch College in Perth and won the Olly Cooley Medal for the best player in WA Premier Cricket in 2016-17.
Who Is Tim David and How Did His Career Start?
Timothy Hays David (Tim David) bats right-handed and bowls occasional right-arm off spin, though he is picked almost entirely for his batting. According to ESPNcricinfo’s profile, Western Australia offered him a state contract in 2018-19 but he never made the cut as a senior player, meaning he has never played a single first-class match in his career, a genuinely rare background for a player of his current profile.
Rather than wait around for another state opportunity, David threw himself into white ball cricket and chose to represent Singapore, his country of birth, playing at the 2019 T20 World Cup qualifier. He also picked up sporadic opportunities with Perth Scorchers in the BBL, making his debut on 1 January 2018. His breakthrough moment came in 2020-21, when former WA bowling coach Adam Griffith brought him to Hobart Hurricanes. He scored 58 runs and won Player of the Match on debut for the club, finishing that breakout season with 279 runs at a strike rate of 153, according to Hobart Hurricanes’ own player profile.
How Did Tim David Become One of the World’s Most Expensive Uncapped Signings?
This is genuinely the most remarkable part of his story. After his Hobart breakout, David was picked up by Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, then signed with Surrey, Southern Brave, Saint Lucia Kings, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in quick succession, becoming the first Singaporean player to appear in the IPL when he debuted for RCB in 2021.
Then, in the 2022 IPL Mega Auction, Mumbai Indians paid INR 8.25 crore, worth around AUD 1.5 million, to sign a player with no state contract and no first-class appearance to his name at all. According to cricket.com.au’s own account, David repaid that faith immediately, finishing the 2022 IPL season with the highest ever strike rate recorded by a batter facing at least 50 balls in a single IPL campaign, hitting 16 sixes from just 86 balls faced, despite being dropped early in that same season.
He went on to represent Mumbai Indians through the 2023 and 2024 seasons on the same fee, before moving back to Royal Challengers Bengaluru from 2025. Away from the IPL, he has also played PSL cricket for Multan Sultans, CPL cricket for Saint Lucia Kings and Trinbago Knight Riders, The Hundred for Southern Brave, and Major League Cricket in the United States for MI New York, giving him a genuinely global footprint across nearly every major T20 league in the world.
How Did Tim David End Up Playing for Australia Instead of Singapore?
David represented Singapore at T20I level in 2019 and 2020, following directly in his father’s footsteps. But as his stock rose through global franchise cricket, Australian selectors took notice, and he switched allegiance, earning a place in Australia’s squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Since then, he has become a fixture of Australia’s white ball middle order. He holds the record for the fastest century and fastest half century ever scored by an Australian in T20I cricket, and he was part of the Australian squad that won the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, becoming the first Singapore born player to win a World Cup title with any nation. His ODI career has been shorter, limited to a single series against South Africa in September 2023.
What Do Tim David’s Full Career Numbers Look Like?
The figures below are the most recent official statistics available, based on data from ESPNcricinfo and cross checked against Google’s official knowledge panel sourcing.
Batting and Fielding Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Not Outs | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s / 50s | Catches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20Is | 74 | 63 | 15 | 1,679 | 102* | 34.98 | 168.41 | 1 / 9 | 44 |
| ODIs | 4 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 35 | 11.25 | 84.91 | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| IPL | 66 | 59 | 24 | 1,151 | 70* | 32.89 | 177.08 | 0 / 2 | 32 |
| List A (Domestic) | 20 | 18 | 5 | 790 | 140* | 60.77 | 120.06 | 2 / 5 | — |
| Domestic T20s / Leagues | 324 | 291 | 87 | 6,488 | 102* | 31.80 | 163.22 | 1 / 24 | 183 |
Bowling Record
| Format | Innings | Overs | Wickets | Best Bowling | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4w / 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20Is | 11 | 27.2 | 5 | 1/18 | 51.00 | 9.33 | 32.8 | 0 / 0 |
| ODIs | 1 | 2.0 | 1 | 1/20 | 20.00 | 10.00 | 12.0 | 0 / 0 |
| IPL | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0/18 | — | 18.00 | — | 0 / 0 |
| List A (Domestic) | 7 | 38.0 | 10 | 3/26 | 17.10 | 4.50 | 22.8 | 0 / 0 |
| Domestic T20s / Leagues | 60 | 107.0 | 15 | 1/0 | 63.33 | 8.88 | 42.8 | 0 / 0 |
His T20I strike rate of 168.41 across 74 matches makes him one of the most explosive middle-order hitters in the format anywhere in the world. His List A batting average of 60.77 is genuinely elite for any format, though this is a small sample of just 20 matches, all played before his career shifted entirely toward T20 cricket. His bowling is clearly a rarely used, occasional option rather than a genuine second skill, with only 15 wickets across 324 domestic T20 matches.
What Is Tim David’s BBL Only Record?
This is where the story needs a bit of care. Tim David’s stats aggregators do not publish one single, clean lifetime BBL total the way they do for his IPL or T20I numbers, since his BBL career is split across two very different spells, a handful of matches for Perth Scorchers followed by a much longer run with Hobart Hurricanes. Here is what is confirmed for each, based on club records and Hobart Hurricanes’ official profile.
BBL Career Timeline
| Stint | Seasons | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Perth Scorchers | 2017-18 to 2019-20 | Limited, sporadic appearances, David has himself described this period as a struggle for regular game time |
| Hobart Hurricanes debut season (BBL|10) | 2020-21 | 58 runs and Player of the Match on debut; 279 runs for the season at a strike rate of 153, regarded as his breakout campaign |
| Hobart Hurricanes contract extension | February 2022 | Signed a two-year deal, becoming a core, long-term member of the squad |
| Hobart Hurricanes title win | BBL|14, early 2025 | Part of the Hurricanes squad that won the BBL for the first time in the club’s history |
What Is Tim David’s BBL Only Record, Season by Season?
Tim David’s BBL story is really two careers in one: a quiet, opportunity-limited start at Perth Scorchers, followed by a genuinely important run at Hobart Hurricanes that built up to the club’s first ever title. Here is the fullest season-by-season picture available, built from official club sources, Wikipedia season pages, and cricket.com.au reporting.
BBL Career, Season by Season
| Season | Team | Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Strike Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 to 2019-20 (combined) | Perth Scorchers | 4 | 28 | 13 | 136.2 | Sporadic opportunities only |
| BBL|10 (2020-21) | Hobart Hurricanes | — | 279 | 58 | 153.0 | Breakout season, debut fifty and Player of the Match |
| BBL|11 (2021-22) | Hobart Hurricanes | — | ~327 | — | — | Figure calculated from official cumulative totals |
| BBL|12 (2022-23) | Hobart Hurricanes | — | ~258 | — | — | Figure calculated from official cumulative totals |
| BBL|13 (2023-24) | Hobart Hurricanes | 10 | 99 | 22 | 111.2 | Quieter season by his own standards |
| BBL|14 (2024-25) | Hobart Hurricanes | 11 | 254 | 68 | 177.6 | Career-best season average (42.33) and strike rate; helped Hurricanes win their first ever BBL title, second-highest run scorer in the campaign |
According to cricket.com.au’s report on his 2025 contract extension, David had scored 1,217 runs at a strike rate of 159.92, including four half centuries, across his entire Hobart Hurricanes career up to and including the BBL|14 title win. That figure, combined with his 28 runs for Perth Scorchers earlier in his career, puts his total BBL career runs at roughly 1,245 at the point that article was published.
A word on the two seasons marked with an approximate sign in the table above. Public stats pages do not break every single BBL season down cleanly on their own, so the BBL|11 and BBL|12 figures here are worked out by comparing official cumulative totals reported at different points in his career, rather than being lifted directly from a single official season scorecard. Every other figure in the table comes directly from an official club or Wikipedia source.
His BBL|14 season stands out clearly as his best. An average of 42.33 and a strike rate of 177.62 are both the highest of his career in the competition, and he led the tournament in what Cricket Australia calls Power Surge runs that season, hitting 114 runs at a strike rate of 285 during that specific phase of play, much of it in successful run chases against Adelaide Strikers, Sydney Thunder, and Melbourne Renegades. He signed a fresh two-year deal with Hobart Hurricanes in mid-2025, keeping him at the club through the end of BBL|16, after interest from rival clubs including both Melbourne franchises.
FAQs
How tall is Tim David?
196 cm, which is 6 feet 5 inches, one of the taller players in world cricket and a big factor in his six hitting.
What is Tim David’s weight?
This has not been publicly confirmed by any official cricket source, so no reliable figure is available.
Has Tim David ever played first-class cricket?
No. He was offered a Western Australia state contract in 2018-19 but never made the cut, and has not played a single first-class match at any point in his career.
Why did Tim David play for Singapore before Australia?
He was born in Singapore, and his father Rod David also played international cricket for the country. After being overlooked by Western Australia, David chose to represent Singapore at T20I level before later switching to Australia once his global T20 form made him a genuine international prospect.
How much did Mumbai Indians pay for Tim David in the IPL?
INR 8.25 crore, worth around AUD 1.5 million, at the 2022 IPL Mega Auction, a remarkable fee for a player with no first-class experience.
Has Tim David won a BBL title?
Yes. He was part of the Hobart Hurricanes squad that won BBL|14 in early 2025, the first title in the club’s history.
What is Tim David’s IPL strike rate record?
He holds the record for the highest strike rate ever recorded by a batter facing a minimum of 50 balls in a single IPL season, set in 2022 for Mumbai Indians.
What international records does Tim David hold for Australia?
He holds the record for the fastest century and the fastest half century ever scored by an Australian batter in T20I cricket.
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