It is not an easy task to get in touch with Mumbai's young prodigy
Armaan Jaffer. Make no mistake. He has no airs about his talent. Just
that he isn't upgraded. He isn't familiar with Whatsapp or Facebook. Nor does he carry a smart phone.
The 17-year-old cricketer isn't a geek like other teens nowadays. His father Kalim believes these networking platforms are mere distractions.
Kalim said: "These are mere distractions, a waste of time. It will take the man's focus away from what he want to do if wants to make it big in life or live like an ordinary person."
The idea seems to be working for the Jaffers as Armaan has been in the thick of runs more often than not and on Tuesday, selectors named him in the India squad for the ICC U-19 World Cup to be played in Bangladesh in January-February.
This makes Armaan, who is nephew of Test player Wasim Jaffer, the only Mumbai player to be picked in the squad. Other being his ex-teammate Sarfarz Khan, who recently shifted base to Uttar Pradesh.
Intense concentration has not been an issue for Armaan, who was earlier ignored for India U-19's two tri-series in Kolkata and in Sri Lanka. He kept on scoring and eventually managed 1,000 plus runs in just seven U-19 Cooch Behar games. His hard work and dedication has been rewarded.
Armaan came to know of his inclusion when his abba called him while he was on his way to drop his 14-year-old sister Fatima, who is also a cricketer — a fast bowler in the senior Mumbai team, to MCA's BKC facility for her team's practice session. The news easily sank in as he was expecting a call after the kind of runs he scored this season.
"It feels great. It was little disappointing that I could not make it to the squad earlier. But whatever happens happens for good. I only wanted to score as many runs as I can to get noticed. Finally, I could do that," said an elated Armaan.
Armaan so far has scored 1,018 runs with three back-to-back double hundreds, a century and two half centuries. The youngster said his aim was just to get big runs.
"It wasn't easy. First match I scored 56 (vs Baroda). I thought if I want to get noticed, I will have to score more and big. I completely applied myself and did not try to lose concentration after every milestone. Once I got that 174 (vs Tripura) I started to feel good.
"I was in form and hitting the ball well. My intention was to get over the past knock and begun afresh before every new innings. It would relieve me off pressure as far as living up to my own expectations is concerned. I wanted to make every innings count," he said.
During his stint for India Green at the U-19 Challenger Series, Armaan said he got to learn a lot from India great and coach Rahul Dravid.
"You will learn something or the other everyday. He told us, 'You should try to know learn what mistake you did in that game and try to improve on it'. He also said that one should not be disappointed if not selected for India U-19 team. This is not the end. There are many who have not played U-19 but have gone on to play for India. And then there were players who played India A before India U-19," said Armaan.
There is a notion in the cricket circles that Armaan is more suited to longer version of the game. However, that is not true, says Kalim.
Kalim said, "Yes, there are many people who say this. But these people have not seen him bat. I think they will change their notion once they see him bat. He is a classical player and a situational player if not flamboyant."
Armaan's idol is Sachin Tendulkar, but he is also a fan of AB de Villiers.
"AB is my current favourite. He can play in all situations. He can score a 100-ball 30 if the situation demands and also a 30-ball 100."
So does he plays any shot that AB plays? "Yes. I play reverse sweep well. But it goes for a boundary and not six."
Not just AB, Armaan is a big fan of football and follows Real Madrid.
"I love Ronaldo. He is my favourite player. People may hate him but he doesn't care and performs. He also does really well under pressure, which is why I follow him," he said.
The youngster's love for football can only be seen when he is free from all his cricketing activities.
"I watch football when I have time in hand. Apart from that I love music. But no Whatsapp, Facebook or any gadget," says Armaan.
Kalim said, "I let Armaan enjoy football because it's a sport and music can help him relax."
However, even listening to music has its conditions. "Armaan must listen to old hindi film songs or inspirational songs, not the current hits."
The 17-year-old cricketer isn't a geek like other teens nowadays. His father Kalim believes these networking platforms are mere distractions.
Kalim said: "These are mere distractions, a waste of time. It will take the man's focus away from what he want to do if wants to make it big in life or live like an ordinary person."
The idea seems to be working for the Jaffers as Armaan has been in the thick of runs more often than not and on Tuesday, selectors named him in the India squad for the ICC U-19 World Cup to be played in Bangladesh in January-February.
This makes Armaan, who is nephew of Test player Wasim Jaffer, the only Mumbai player to be picked in the squad. Other being his ex-teammate Sarfarz Khan, who recently shifted base to Uttar Pradesh.
Intense concentration has not been an issue for Armaan, who was earlier ignored for India U-19's two tri-series in Kolkata and in Sri Lanka. He kept on scoring and eventually managed 1,000 plus runs in just seven U-19 Cooch Behar games. His hard work and dedication has been rewarded.
Armaan came to know of his inclusion when his abba called him while he was on his way to drop his 14-year-old sister Fatima, who is also a cricketer — a fast bowler in the senior Mumbai team, to MCA's BKC facility for her team's practice session. The news easily sank in as he was expecting a call after the kind of runs he scored this season.
"It feels great. It was little disappointing that I could not make it to the squad earlier. But whatever happens happens for good. I only wanted to score as many runs as I can to get noticed. Finally, I could do that," said an elated Armaan.
Armaan so far has scored 1,018 runs with three back-to-back double hundreds, a century and two half centuries. The youngster said his aim was just to get big runs.
"It wasn't easy. First match I scored 56 (vs Baroda). I thought if I want to get noticed, I will have to score more and big. I completely applied myself and did not try to lose concentration after every milestone. Once I got that 174 (vs Tripura) I started to feel good.
"I was in form and hitting the ball well. My intention was to get over the past knock and begun afresh before every new innings. It would relieve me off pressure as far as living up to my own expectations is concerned. I wanted to make every innings count," he said.
During his stint for India Green at the U-19 Challenger Series, Armaan said he got to learn a lot from India great and coach Rahul Dravid.
"You will learn something or the other everyday. He told us, 'You should try to know learn what mistake you did in that game and try to improve on it'. He also said that one should not be disappointed if not selected for India U-19 team. This is not the end. There are many who have not played U-19 but have gone on to play for India. And then there were players who played India A before India U-19," said Armaan.
There is a notion in the cricket circles that Armaan is more suited to longer version of the game. However, that is not true, says Kalim.
Kalim said, "Yes, there are many people who say this. But these people have not seen him bat. I think they will change their notion once they see him bat. He is a classical player and a situational player if not flamboyant."
Armaan's idol is Sachin Tendulkar, but he is also a fan of AB de Villiers.
"AB is my current favourite. He can play in all situations. He can score a 100-ball 30 if the situation demands and also a 30-ball 100."
So does he plays any shot that AB plays? "Yes. I play reverse sweep well. But it goes for a boundary and not six."
Not just AB, Armaan is a big fan of football and follows Real Madrid.
"I love Ronaldo. He is my favourite player. People may hate him but he doesn't care and performs. He also does really well under pressure, which is why I follow him," he said.
The youngster's love for football can only be seen when he is free from all his cricketing activities.
"I watch football when I have time in hand. Apart from that I love music. But no Whatsapp, Facebook or any gadget," says Armaan.
Kalim said, "I let Armaan enjoy football because it's a sport and music can help him relax."
However, even listening to music has its conditions. "Armaan must listen to old hindi film songs or inspirational songs, not the current hits."
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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