Mumbai: Haseeb Hameed has already created history by becoming the fifth youngest player to debut for England in Test cricket. However, the reason why the 19-year-old got into the sport lies half-way across the world, far away from the British isles.
Hameed’s roots lie in India (his father was born in Mumbai). It is in the financial capital of the South Asian nation, where Hameed first realised how big a sport cricket is.
At the age of seven, Hameed met his true inspiration, when he saw legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar at the MIG Cricket Club, in Mumbai, in 2004.
The England debutant was at the club to watch his elder brother Safwan, but instead got to see the amount of craze Tendulkar generated in India.
“There was a sea of people waiting to meet Sachin. That’s when Haseeb first got a feel of cricket and the passion for the game in India,” Safwan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. “That’s when he decided that cricket is going to be his future.”
