Dubai Arnav Hemant Kambli is only 13 years old but in England conditions which is alien to him, he piled up 830 runs for G Force Cricket Academy team that toured UK recently.
His feat is similar to India’s legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar, who stunned the world by scoring 774 runs during his debut tour to West Indies in 1971.
Arnav captained the G Force under-13 team and led from the front through many sterling knocks to ensure his team stunning victories.
In fact, many England club team were eager to get Arnav’s wicket but this youngster, who has a perfect defence and delectable shots, could not be stopped.
Arnav was handed over a bat from a very early age by his cricket loving parents. His father Hemant Kambli played for Oman national team and his mother Preeti played for Mumbai women’s cricket team. From the age of five Arnav’s parents made sure their son tours with an academy that plays aboard during holidays.
Arnav piled up runs during this tour under the watchful eyes of Ian Trott, the renowned coach and father of England Test star Jonathan Trott and G Force Academy head coach Gopal Jasapara and in the presence of renowned coaches and former India players T. A. Sekar, Pravin Amre and Aashish Kapoor.
This is not the first time Arnav had scored heavily in England. In 2016, at the age of 11, he scored a century at England’s Epsom College ground. Two years before this ton, Arnav at the age of nine, while captaining Ryan International School had scored his first century in the UAE. He hit an unbeaten 116 with seven sixes and 13 boundaries against Springs Academy while chasing a target of 170 runs in 25 overs.
Speaking to Gulf News about his recent England tour, Arnav said: “I was determined to score heavily during this tour and had worked hard. I am delighted that I could score 830 runs from the 27 matches we played. I am feeling more confident now and want to remain consistent and play for the UAE team.”
Former West Indies players turned coaches Jimmy Adams and Desmond Haynes hailed Arnav’s talent after watching him play during their coaching sessions. Arnav hit six half centuries on this UK tour. “My best knock was an unbeaten 70 while chasing a target in 35 balls against G Force Boys. I won the match for my team through the knock. I also hit 64 off 24 balls against Richmond Club and 67 off 28 balls against Wimbledon Club. I enjoy playing match winning knocks,” said Arnav, who also keeps wickets and produced nine stumpings and took five catches.
A local UAE daily described Arnav’s UK tour performance as ‘mountain of runs from a 13 year old’ but he is now all set to scale to greater heights with the dream of becoming an international cricketer.
