Till last Saturday, Abhimanyu Yalamanchili was just another teenage fan hoping to meet Sachin Tendulkar. When the master batsman and his teammates finally agreed to meet the 13-year-old, they were impressed with what they saw. He could bowl both medium pace and leg-spin, and he could bat decently.And all with one arm.So, for the past four days, Abhimanyu — who represents Karnataka at the Under-13 level — has been a regular at the nets, bowling alongside more regular and accomplished cricketers and earning his share of praise. ‘‘You are an inspiration to me, too,’’ Sachin told Abhimanyu after watching him bowl, a comment that left the youngster ‘‘stunned’’.Abhimanyu, who lost his left arm in a lift accident at the age of seven, was taken to the ground on Saturday by BN Ramesh, the Indian team’s local manager, before the formal camp began. He persuaded the officials to let him have a bowl and that was enough to make even Tendulkar, usually reticent, ask the boy to come and bowl at the camp from Monday.He’s been back every day, watched and filmed by his mother Sunanda and receiving pats on the back from all the players, and from coach John Wright too. ‘‘Agarkar and Sachin spent quite some time with me on Tuesday. Sachin was especially helpful as he taught me how to land the ball on the seam. Bowling to the likes of Sehwag and Bangar has also been an experience’’, Abhimanyu told The Indian Express.What makes Abhimanyu stand out, apart from the physical, is his mental strength and determination to overcome his condition. Just three months after losing his arm, he went to his parents and said, ‘‘I want to be a cricketer.’’Though taken by surprise, they took him to international umpire AV Jayaprakash. From there, he went to the academy run by Brijesh Patel, chairman of the national team selectors. That’s where he trains every day, when he’s not with Sachin & Co.However, despite his passion for the game, a career in cricket isn’t guaranteed. Says his mother: ‘‘He says he still needs some time to decide on whether he wants to be a cricketer. But whatever he decides I just hope he keeps the attitude of never giving up in life.’’
