Who is Mohamed Amaan? 5 interesting facts about India U19 captain who scored 122 vs Japan in ACC U19 Asia Cup 2024
India's Mohamed Amaan has become the talk of the town after his match-winning century against Japan in the ACC U19 Asia Cup 2024 on Monday (December 2). The India U-19 skipper led the team from the front by scoring 122 runs off 118 balls at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Batting at number four for India U-19s, Amaan remained not out. He came out to bat in the 11th over when the score was 81/2. His unbeaten century helped the team reach 339/6 in 50 overs. India won the match by 211 runs eventually.
Mohamed Amaan won the Player of the Match award for his spectacular batting performance in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup 2024 match. On that note, here are five things which fans should know about the India U-19 skipper.
#1 Mohamed Amaan hails from Saharanpur
Amaan was born on August 15, 2006. At the time of writing, the India U-19 captain is 18 years and 110 days old. He is a right-handed batter, who can also bowl leg-spin when needed.
The Indian U-19 skipper is a resident of the Saharanpur city of Uttar Pradesh. He has also played in the UP T20 League.
#2 Amaan lost his parents by the age of 16
Amaan is just 18 years old but he has already been through a dark phase in his personal life. In 2020, Amaan lost his mother Saayba due to COVID-19, and in 2022, his father Mehtab breathed his last, losing a battle to a prolonged illness.
At the age of 16, Amaan had the responsibility of his three younger siblings. He did not give up on his cricketing dream, worked hard, and is captaining the Indian U-19 team now.
#3 Amaan sought for a job at a clothes shop to make ends meet
In an interview with The Indian Express, Amaan's coach Rajeev Goyal recalled how the current India U-19 captain would ask him for odd jobs so that he could make ends meet during his days of struggle.
“He told me, 'koi kapde ke dukan pe naukri laga do, ghar mein paise nahi hai (get me a job at any clothes shop, there’s no money at home),’” Goyal said.
To ensure that Amaan did not leave cricket, Goyal offered him a coaching role at his academy. The decision worked wonders for Amaan's career.
#4 Mohamed Amaan's father was against his dream to play cricket
As mentioned above, Amaan lost his father Mehtab in 2022. Mehtab, who worked as a truck driver, was not in favor of his son's dream to become a cricketer.
“My father never liked me playing cricket. He always told me, 'Yeh ameeron ka khel hai, gareeb ka kuch nahi hota (this is a rich man’s sport, the poor don’t benefit from it)… I never listened to him,” Amaan said in a chat with The Indian Express.
#5 Mohamed Amaan was in the standby list for U-19 World Cup 2024
While Amaan is captaining the Indian U-19 team right now, he was not even a part of the main squad for the U-19 World Cup, which was held earlier this year in South Africa. Amaan was one of the reserve players for India.
“I was with the Indian U-19 World Cup squad as a standby, but now I have got the opportunity again to play as the captain of our team. It’s my dream to win the title for our team," Amaan said during the UP T20 League.
It will be interesting to see if Mohamed Amaan can lead the Indian team to the ACC U-19 Asia Cup trophy.