Dubai: The UAE’s under-19 team left-arm spinner Justin James couldn’t believe his luck when he was invited to bowl for the Kolkata Knight Riders team during a recent Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 practice session at the International Cricket Council Academy.
The 18-year-old not only got to bowl against some of the greats of the game but also received tips from a few of them. He impressed the players so much that he even got to bowl in training sessions held by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab at Shaikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
“This experience will remain as an unforgettable moment of my life,” he told Gulf News. “It has boosted my confidence. I could never have imagined legends like Jacques Kallis and VVS Laxman appreciating my bowling and giving me tips but for the IPL being held here.”
James was selected mainly due to his impressive showings in the recent Under-19 World Cup, where he bowled the UAE to a victory over Zimbabwe with a three-wicket spell in their warm-up match. He bowled consistently well throughout the tournament and even gave New Zealand a fright with two quick wickets.
“It was a dream to bowl to batsmen like Kallis, Gautam Gambhir, Darren Sammy and Laxman, who also opted to bat against me despite being a mentor,” said James, who was born in India but has lived in the UAE since he was two months old. “When I beat Kallis, he came and patted me after his batting. I also beat Laxman and clean-bowled Robin Uthappa during practice. Laxman even advised me to join some club in India but I told him that my dream is to play for the UAE in the 2015 World Cup.”
James became a left-arm spinner due to Kolkata Knight Riders star Uthappa. “In 2008, I toured with the Maxtalent Academy team to Mumbai and there I got to bowl at Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy practice nets,” he said. “I was a medium-pacer then and Uthappa asked me to try bowling spin and ever since I have specialised in spin bowling.
“I played schools cricket for Sharjah Indian School. We did not have a team but in my last year at school, we played in the inter-schools tournament and we reached the semi-final and I won the man-of-the-match award. I was selected to play for Emirates Cricket Board Green and Blue teams and then got selected to play for UAE under-19 team in Thailand and Malaysia. I learned the basics from Mohammad Hyder Qazmi and Qasim Mohammad, head coaches of Sharjah Cricket Council academy, and UAE coach Aaqib Javed has sharpened my skills.”