Click to play videoBangalore: At just 16, Abhimanyu Yalamanchili is a promising cricketer and could be an inspiration for many, as he has overcome his handicap and has even caught the attention of Sachin Tendulkar and Greg Chappell.
He could have easily sat at home and brooded over his handicap. Instead he decided to take it head on and now is on the way to bigger things.
Young Abhimanyu is a tearaway fast bowler in the Andhra Pradesh under-16 team. He seems like just any other player until you see the sleeve of his left arm flying against the wind.
"I don’t find any difficulty or anything. I play equally to other people who play with everything. And I have been doing well also for the state level," Abhimanyu says.
His performance on the field is definitely impressive. Not only is he good at throwing the ball but also at wielding the bat.
And while practising at the NRA grounds in Bangalore, he also got some valuable tips from former Indian off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna, who feels that Abhimanyu is a fabulous batsman.
But what really is Abhimanyu's greatest strength?
"His greatest strength is his mind over body. I don’t find a lot of us mentally strong over here. His commitment to the game is unbelievable," says Prasanna.
Clearly, confidence is the key to his success, and it is this virtue that has earned him praise from master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
"Tendulkar had asked me to play with the Indian team, and he spent a lot of time with me in the camp. We did some work on my bowling, how to release the ball, the seam movement and all that. And he is still in contact," Abhimanyu says.
In a country where cricket is religion, players such as Abhimanyu showcase the truth of that statement.
While Abhimanyu is sweating it out at the NRA Grounds here in Bangalore, the Indian cricket team is undergoing a rolling camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium not far away.
Reports that Indian coach Greg Chappell has found Abhimanyu’s performance interesting, it could well be the morale booster Abhimanyu needs.
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