UAE- Yodhin not getting carried away

11/7/2015 1:03:50 AM

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

At 16 Yodhin has a shown an amazing level of maturity and kept his feet firmly on the ground. It is quite evident in the way he speaks and the way he handles himself. A call-up to the UAE cricket team is a life changing one but the medium pacer is not getting carried away.

Obviously chuffed on being selected for the ICC Interncontinental Cup and the ICC World Cricket League Championship fixtures against Hong Kong Yodhin is looking forward to making it count.

"It feels pretty good to be selected. I was pretty hopeful about it but I was not expecting it" Yodhin told the Khaleej Times on Thursday.

"It worked out really well in end. I'm now looking forward to repay the faith and I want to seize the opportunity" he added.

It has been an eventual year for Yodhin who was among the 30 probables for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. At 15 he was the youngest player in the provisional squad.

A good showing in the ACC Under-19 Premier League where he was the top wicket-taker and the fact that the squad is going through a transitional phase meant Yodhin couldn't be ignored any longer.

And he says the hard work has paid off. "One thing I've learnt is that hard work pays off in the end. You put in three or four hours a day and you do get the reward eventually. As a bowler what I've learnt is to stick to the basics and keep it simple. I'm not the quickest of bowlers and coach Aaqib had other options as well. Maybe he saw something in me. I concentrate on line and length and in a better space mentally" said Yodhin.

Yodhin gave credit to Aaqib and said that the former Pakistan fast bowler has been an integral part of his learning curve.

"Aaqib sir has been great for me. His advice has always suited my bowling. I've improved a lot over the year under him.

"Now I'm just waiting for the opportunity and hopefully I can keep up to his expectations" he said.

At such an young age Yodhin is coping with the pressure quite admirably as well. "I feel less pressure. If I was picked later maybe I would have been. I'm still young and I still have a chance to perform" said the Grade 11 Cambridge School student.

As a precursor Yodhin also featured in a practice game against Pakistan and he said that he learnt a lot from the experience. "They didn't know how old I was. Later when they came to know Ahmed Shehzad were Misbah-ul-Haq especially were excited when I was bowling really well against Younis Khan. I also picked Shan Masood's wicket. So it was a pretty good confidence booster for me" Yodhin said. Looking ahead he said: "I just want to stay focused and keep doing what I'm doing. I want to take it game by game just stick to the basics and not do anything stupid."

The Intercontinental fixture begins on November 11 while the World Cricket League Championship games are on November 16 and November 18.

All the games are the ICC Academy ground in Dubai Sports City.

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