Dubai teenager living the dream as he rubs shoulders with Rashid Khan and Virat Kohli

Given the age of the children at the Rajasthan Royals Academy open day at The Sevens on Saturday morning, Caleb McLaren was not required to offer up much of his new-found expertise.

The South African left-arm wrist spinner has only just turned 17 himself, but was enlisted to help oversee training at the academy of which he is a member.

As it was, the 4- to 8-year-olds were mostly taken with the rudiments of how to hold a bat, as well as making sliding stops across judo mats covered in water.

If any of the kids had asked him for tips on how to bowl leg-spin, he might have said, ‘Well, Rashid Khan was telling me the other day to do it like this’.

Or, ‘This is one of the seven variations Imran Tahir taught me’. Or, ‘When I was bowling at Mohammed Nabi, he suggested I should try this’.

It has been quite the week for the Dubai-based teenager. In his role as a net bowler for Afghanistan ahead of the Asia Cup, he met a number of his heroes in the game.

Although he had a job to do, McLaren acknowledges he was star struck.

“For the first three sessions, Rashid Khan wasn’t there,” McLaren said. “When he arrived, it was a shock. He is a lovely guy and he helped me a lot.

“When I first saw him I was shocked. I was like, ‘This guy is not human, how is he stood in front of me?’ Then, as you get to know them you realise they are just human like anyone else.

“The same with Virat [Kohli]. Yesterday I was bowling and Virat was standing two metres away from me.

“I was literally shaking. He is my idol, and I have always looked up to him. I love Virat Kohli so for him to be there is incredible.”

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