Fast becoming an important member of the Pakistan team, rookie all-rounder Mohammad Aamer still recalls the moment when he got the prized scalp of Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar in a Champions Trophy match in South Africa.
The 17-year-old, opening the bowling attack, dismissed Tendulkar at a group league match, which Pakistan won by 54 runs in September. Aamer says he still can't forget the moment, when wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal pouched the 'master blaster'.
"That was indeed a big wicket for me and I will always cherish that moment, when I dismissed him," Aamer said.
Aamer, who has impressed everyone with his performance since debut for Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup in England, proved his mettle with the bat by cracking a 81-ball 73 in the third One-dayer against New Zealand earlier this week.
"After that 73 against New Zealand, I realised how much people follow your performances and now I know that I just need to work harder on my batting as well," Aamer said in an interview to Geo television.
"I come from a humble background and I know that life is very tough for a cricketer. The form is not always consistent you also have to face bad times," Aamer said.
"I am not an ambitious person in the sense I don't set goals of taking 100 or 400 wickets. I play my cricket for the moment and match to match. Because form is not always the same," he added.
Aamer said he was inspired by former fast bowling great Wasim Akram but others like Mudassar Nazar, who was his coach at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, had also helped him much.
The left-arm pacer also praised Younis Khan, who was recently replaced by Mohammed Yousuf as Pakistan skipper for the upcoming tour of New Zealand, for supporting him.
"When Younis Khan was captain, he encouraged me a lot and told me not to take pressure and play every match as if I was playing a domestic match. Such encouragement is great boost to any young bowler because when you get hit for a boundary the pressure grows on you. Younis was always very supportive," he said.
On the record last wicket stand of 103 against the Kiwis that he shared with Saeed Ajmal, Aamer said, "We never had planned the partnership, we were just taking it over by over but once we got to around 150 we knew victory was possible.
"We then played more carefully. I think (Daniel) Vettori was trying to buy my wicket and I thought he is giving flight to the ball to take a chance and I hit him for three sixes. But he is a world class bowler."
