Exclusive: Aayan wants to become a big player like Virat Kohli, says UAE star's father

At 17, Aayan Afzal Khan is not afraid of taking the new ball against a Test-playing team despite being a spinner.

On Saturday, Aayan opened the bowling against New Zealand in the second T20 International at the Dubai International Stadium.

The left-arm spinner then delivered a match-winning spell of 4-0-20-3, setting up the UAE's historic seven-wicket win over an ICC full member team.

The teenage prodigy stunned the experienced New Zealand top-order with his skills and fearless approach as the Kiwis were eventually restricted to 142 for eight, a total the UAE chased down with 26 balls to spare.

But Afzal Khan, Aayan's father, says the youngster showed a rare spark at a very young age.

"At the age of eight, he went to England alone, there was nobody from the family to accompany him. He travelled with the (Desert Cubs) academy," Afzal recalled.

"Then at age of nine, he went to Australia. Some kids can't leave their parents even at the age of 25. But Aayan went abroad at the age of eight.

"So he became very independent from a young age. But before he goes for any match, he calls his mum (Shahista Khan). His mother is the most important person for him."

Since making his UAE debut last year, Aayan has enjoyed a meteoric rise, becoming the youngest player to play in a T20 World Cup match last year and featuring in title-winning franchise teams, Gulf Giants in UAE's star-studded ILT20 and Montreal Tigers in GT20 Canada.

Now his man-of-the-match performance on Saturday has given the UAE a rare opportunity to go for a series win against New Zealand in the third and final T20 at the Dubai International Stadium today (6 pm).

Regardless of today's result, Afzal says his son has what it takes to make a name for himself in international cricket.

"He is working very hard on his game. He doesn't sit for long if he is at home. He always wants to train and practice. He wants to take wickets and win matches in every game. He wants to become a very big international player like Virat Kohli. He has set that sort of goals for himself," Afzal says.

Such was Aayan's passion for cricket that Afzal had to 'leave work' and focus on his son's cricket development.

"When he was a child, he was always like, 'dad let's go for practice, let's go for practice'. So I felt that he would do something in future. I left my work and focus on him more," said Afzal who has now also started training his 12-year-old daughter, Afsha.

"Since I played domestic cricket in India, I have now become a full-time cricket coach. I train at the Ace Cricket Academy in Sharjah.

"That's how I managed to give him more practice. In the domestic cricket here, we would go for the night matches and often we both sleep in the car. He has worked very hard and Allah is also blessing him now."

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