The teenage sensation of England Haseeb Hameed said that Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar is his childhood hero.
Hameed has been selected in the Test squad for the Test series against Bangladesh.
The 19-year-old Lancashire opener has similarities with former great Geoffrey Boycott.
Hameed has scored 1,154 runs for Lancashire, including four hundred, and an average of 52.45 in 15 First Division matches in the County Championship. With Alex Hales missing the tour on security grounds, Hameed now has a chance to partner England captain Alastair Cook at the top of the order.
Hameed’s batting style and technique have similarities with England great Geoffrey Boycott.
“It’s funny because Boycott was one of my dad’s role models growing up so maybe it has something to do with that,” said Hameed.
He said that Sachin is his childhood hero and modern batsmen like Joe Root and Virat Kohli are his modern day hero.
“Growing up it was Sachin Tendulkar. More recently I’d say my modern day heroes are Virat Kohli and Joe Root,” Hameed told ECB website.
If he gets the chance to make his England debut in Bangladesh, Hameed would become England’s youngest player since Ben Holliokae in 1997 and the fifth youngest in the history
If he gets the chance to make his England debut in Bangladesh, Hameed would become England’s youngest player since Ben Hollioake in 1997, and the fifth-youngest in history.
That is something which is already playing upon his mind and the Lancashire based cricketer is already started to plan for it.
“I am sure Test bowlers might target me,” Hameed said on Friday.
“But the same principles apply. I have to control what I can and give myself the best chance to go out there and succeed and that means preparing well,” added Hameed, the son of an Indian-born cricket fan who settled in the Lancashire town of Bolton, northwest England.
“But if you look at me I’m not as physically developed as other guys so I rely a lot on timing and patience and spending time at the crease.
“Growing up in the north — with wet and slow wickets — I’ve had to wait for the ball and play late so I’m sure that has helped me develop that sort of technique,” Hameed said.
With growing influence of T20 cricket, though, Hameed is keen on bulking himself up, so that he could clear the fence more often, thus adding another dimension to his game. “I’d like to get a little bit bigger – so beef up in the gym maybe so then I can hit the ball a bit further,” the teenage batsman told the ECB website.