Saudi boy sets heart on learning cricket in city

Under-19 Saudi Arabia national team player threatens to run away from home if not allowed to come to India to learn the game from cricketing greats like Dravid and Srinath

Saudi boy sets heart on learning cricket in city

Under-19 Saudi Arabia national team player threatens to run away from home if not allowed to come to India to learn the game from cricketing greats like Dravid and Srinath

A 15-year-old Saudi Arabian national and Under-19 team player, impressed with India's feat of winning the World Cup cricket trophy, created quite a ruckus at his home and demanded that his parents allow him to learn the game from none other than the likes of Dravid and Srinath.

Adnan was born in Saudi Arabia, but he attributes his connection with India through his love for cricket for bringing him back

Mohammed Adnan arrived in the city after discontinuing his studies in Saudi Arabia and will pursue his studies alongside as he trains at Imtiaz Ahmed Cricket Academy (IACA).

He said that he wanted to master the strait and cover drive, which his idol Dravid is famous for, and spearhead the bowling attack like Srinath.

The budding cricketer with Imtiaz Ahmed, director of IACA

However, cricket is not as popular as other sports in his country. Hence, he has now set his eyes on training in India to hone his cricketing skills.

Indian origin
Adnan's father, originally from Bhopal, had settled in Saudi Arabia since the past 21 years and is a Saudi government employee.
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Adnan was born there and is a Saudi national, but he attributes his connection with India through his love for cricket for bringing him back.
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Initially his parents were afraid to send him to India, as they believed that there could be communal problems post the Ayodhya verdict, but his persistence paid off and he has taken admission at IACA.

"I have played for the national team in Saudi Arabia. But the exposure one gets here cannot be expected back home. My parents did not want me to come here, but I turned a rebel and said that if they didn't allow me to come, I would run away," said Adnan with a smile.

Why Bangalore?
The city is the hub of cricket for one, and many top Indian players like Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Shrinath, Dravid and Sunil Joshi originate from here Also, the National Cricket Academy (NCA), which fine tunes players chosen for the national side, is in the city.

Quite different
"Santhanam, Adnan's coach at IACA said, "This boy made us bend rules in the book, as we are allowed to take on only 100 boys. He stood before us with his kit and luggage and said he came all the way from Saudi Arabia only to fine-tune his cricketing skills. He quit the 12th standard back home, and said that he would pursue his schooling here. His zeal and enthusiasm won us over."

For the record
Some of the international Test match records in Bangalore are 570 runs by Pakistan versus India in March 2005. The best bowling figures were by Maninder Singh, 7-27 versus Pakistan in 1987. The maximum runs were scored by Gavaskar-600 runs, and Anil Kumble has taken the maximum number of wickets 35.

Did you know?
In One Day matches, Australia holds the record of scoring a maximum of 324 runs against India at the Chinnaswamy stadium in 2003.