Khizar Dafedar makes most of UK trip

Khizar Dafedar will have fond memories of his first trip to England. The 17-year-old got his first visa on his six-month-old passport. And on the field, he translated his immense potential into performance.

Courtesy Dilip Vengsarkar’s recommendation, Dafedar was taken to the UK by Dr Samir Pathak, a surgeon and former cricketer, and John Wilson, a teacher at Cheadle Hulme School, so that early exposure to English conditions could hone his batting skills. He was allowed to play and study at the Cheadle Hulme School in Manchester.

And boy, didn’t he make it count! The commerce student from Rizvi College scored close to 350 runs in eight games.  He shared a delicious tale with dna.

The boy was involved in a memorable tussle with Pakistan’s former off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who was playing for Lashings. The outcome? He spanked Mushtaq for four consecutive boundaries in a game between Lashings XI vs Head Masters XI.  “I was nervous initially,” he admitted. “But I saw off his first over. In the second, I took him on before he found his rhythm. He used all his variations in the next few overs and contained me. I hit an unbeaten 57 with nine boundaries.”

He had the privilege to dine with Gordon Greenidge. “He is so humble. He came over for dinner where I was staying. He told us stories about his time and how lucky we were to get the facilities they didn’t,” he said.