Roughly around a year ago, Aamir Kaleem, the veteran Oman cricketer, was cheering for the country’s U-19 boys. With Kaleem as the coach, the duo of Nitish Nadendla and Saumya Sampat had put on sterling performances with the bat and ball to steer Oman to a crushing 100-run victory over Hong Kong in the U-19, Division 2 World Cup qualifiers.
At that juncture of his career, Kaleem hadn’t taken part in a T20I for more than two years. But destiny had something else in store for the all-rounder. Just before the Emerging Asia Cup in Oman, a host of national team cricketers decided to pull out from the tournament over a pay dispute with the board. Suddenly, from nowhere, Kaleem was back into the national fold.
Barring an unbeaten 72 versus the USA, his comeback didn’t seem to be going according to plan. However, the ongoing Asia Cup has changed all that. The experienced left-arm spinner took a three-for versus Pakistan and followed it up with a two-for against India in their last game of the tournament. More importantly, his 64 with the willow in hand hogged the limelight.
A few of the shots may have looked ungainly. The Indian team didn’t seem to be playing with full intensity either. Yet, for a 43-year-old to have the required passion to play top-flight cricket was praiseworthy. That kind of zeal to succeed could be noticed when he heaved one over cow corner off Shivam Dube. Once more the stroke wasn’t exactly a connoisseur’s delight, but Kaleem had used every ounce of his energy to clear the boundary hoardings. The hoick over mid-off while facing Harshit Rana also told something about his deep reservoirs of willpower.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025 – A few loose nuts and bolts bother India ahead of Pakistan clash
Kaleem also was cramping up but nothing seemed to stop the 43-year-old veteran. It took a superlative catch from Hardik Pandya on the fine leg fence to bring to an end to Kaleem’s pyrotechnics. As he trudged his way back to the pavilion, he rightly got a warm applause from the fans and the players in the dugout.
Remember, when Kaleem made his debut for Oman in T20 cricket, in 2012, he was largely known for his left-arm spin. Incidentally, he batted as low as number eight against Italy in his maiden T20 match. But since his return to the side, he has kind of reinvented himself as an opener.
Kaleem has taken a long road to write down his own fairytale story. He came over to Oman from Pakistan more than two decades ago. Initially, he was doing odd jobs like working in a company that was into making beds. However, he never stopped dreaming big. Someone up there smiled on his aspirations and allowed him to take a flight to his fairytale land. On Friday, he took on the big boys of international cricket and composed a memorable fifty.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news