Rashid Khan an inspiration for Shankar Sajjan, a differently-abled net bowler

As Afghanistan were preparing in Bengaluru for their historic Test match against India which will get underway on June 14, they had a visitor who was bowling to their batsmen in the nets.

Shankar S, a physically-challenged cricketer from Bijapur, caught everyone's eyes when he was bowling to the Afghanistan batsmen. The 18-year-old is suffering from improper chromosome balance but still bowled a couple of brilliant googlies that bamboozled the visiting team.

Sportskeeda caught up with Shankar and discussed various things. Here are the excerpts:

Q: Where do you hail from?

Bijapur.

Q: What happened to your hands?

I was born with improper chromosome balance.

Q: When did you start playing cricket?

I used to play cricket from the fourth standard - for 6-8 hours every day.

Q: Who is your inspiration for becoming a leg-spinner?

Rashid Khan and Anil Kumble.

Q: You were also a part of Anil Kumble cricket academy. How did you get in there?

I have this habit of reading newspapers regularly. Once I saw an advertisement for a spinners camp in a Kannada newspaper. There was an e-mail id along with the ad and I registered myself. I got a prompt response from those guys and after that, I came down to Bangalore to participate in the academy.

Q: So, you play with regular cricketers or physically challenged cricketers?

I play with regular cricketers.

Q: What do people think of you when they see you play cricket?

I know who I am and what I am. So, I don't worry about what people think of me.

Q: How did you get into the Afghanistan training session?

KSCA official Santhosh Menon said that the Afghan cricketers will come to KSCA and you can bowl to them. That's how I came.

Q: What did the Afghanistan cricketers tell you after you bowled at them?

They told me that I have a good future. Also, they asked me not to stop playing the sport and work hard.

(With inputs from Bagawati Prasad)