Mohsin Khan picked up 13 wickets for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s inter-state Twenty20 tournament. He turned in quite a few impressive performances and picked up wickets against big teams like Delhi, Baroda, Tamil Nadu and Bengal.

That’s just one part of the story. Khan is a left-arm pacer who consistently bowls in the 140s. And his idol is Zaheer Khan. In an interview, the 19-year-old spoke about the India legend, growing up in Sambhal and Moradabad and what he was doing on auction day.

Khan is very keen on meeting Zaheer. “He’s been my idol for a very long time. I’ve never met him but I learnt a lot by just watching him bowl. When I meet him, I would like to learn to bowl the knuckle ball. Also, I will ask him to help me generate more swing.”

Khan, who started playing cricket in his hometown, Sambhal, when he was 12, moved to Moradabad. “There is a new-found awareness and craze for cricket in Moradabad. Earlier, only Piyush (Chawla) bhai was playing, then (Mohammed) Shami bhai emerged. There are two more young players who are part of the Uttar Pradesh Under-19 team. After I got picked by Mumbai Indians, a lot of other talented players are being discovered,” he says.

Khan says he works very hard in the nets. And that’s the secret behind his pace. “My coaches have been very helpful,” he admits.

Asked about his auction day story, he says, “I was at my home. I watched the entire auction on Day One. I watched the next day as well and my name was called out in the evening. When I got to know that I was picked by MI, I was very happy. I started getting congratulatory calls from my relatives. The celebrations started in Moradabad as well as at Sambhal. I called my mother the minute I heard about it. Then I called my father. Soon, I started getting calls from my relatives and other well-wishers. My father helped me a lot. He always told me to ask for whatever I needed in order to hone my skills. He has been very helpful,” he says.

Khan has made all the right noises. Now, it’s time to create magic with the ball.