Aryansh Sharma stands up to hero Tim Southee as UAE battle New Zealand’s IPL stars

When Aryansh Sharma was preparing to leave home ahead of his T20 international debut on Thursday, he might have been minded to pack his autograph book alongside his bat, pads and wicketkeeping gloves.

The opposition were, after all, packed with the players he has grown up watching in the Indian Premier League.

That included Tim Southee, one of his idols from his favourite team, the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Aryansh was born in Ghaziabad near Delhi but grew up supporting KKR. He loved Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood star who owns the Kolkata franchise, when he was small so plumped for them.

Southee, New Zealand’s captain, showed why he has been so well regarded in the IPL as he took five wickets to quell the challenge of UAE in the opening T20I in Dubai.

Aryansh, though, was far from overawed by the illustrious opposition he was up against. The 18-year-old opener, who will return to studies at Manipal Academy of Higher Education in Dubai when term starts next month, carried the fight with a sparkling half century.

It included exquisite strokeplay against Southee, three fours in a row off Kyle Jamieson, and earned a pat on the back from multiple-IPL winning spinner Mitchell Santner by the end.

“I like this team,” Aryansh said of facing New Zealand. “I have heard that, amongst all the Test nation sides, this is the team who all support you.

“Tim Southee played for KKR, my favourite franchise, so he is my favourite player in that team. [But] when we are playing against each other, it is about playing for my team, playing for my country.

“When I am in the game, I’m not thinking that I am his fan. Right now, he is just a player and I am another player. It is about the competition when we are in the game.”

A fine bowling performance