15-year-old Rajasthan boy takes 10 wickets for no runs in a T20 game

In what was an unbelievable feat, 15-year-old Akash Choudhary, a left-arm medium pacer from Rajasthan, scalped 10 wickets for no runs in a domestic T20 game played at Jaipur. The tournament, called the Late Bhawer Singh T20 tournament, was organized by one of the local ground owners in memory of his grandfather.

The match was played between Disha Cricket Academy (DCA) and Pearl Academy (PA). After winning the toss on a damp wicket, PA chose to field, restricting their opponents to 156 runs in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, courtesy Choudhary’s 10-wicket haul, PA were bowled out for just 36.

“I cannot thank God enough for this. A five-wicket haul in a T20 is possible on a good day, but a 10-wicket haul, without giving away a single run, is all luck,” Akash told Sportskeeda.

“I took two wickets in the first over, another two in the second over, another two in the third over and four wickets in my last over, which included a hat-trick off the last three balls,” he added.

Born in 2002, Akash hails from a small district called Bharatpur near the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border.

“My elder brother played district-level cricket in Rajasthan and that is the reason I too developed an interest in the game. He would often take me along for this matches,” he recalled.

“My parents then got me enrolled at the Shardul Sports School in Bikaner. In 2014, I shifted to Jaipur to be coached by Mr Vivek Yadav at the Arawalli Cricket Club. Mr Yadav has worked with the Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Ranji Trophy team,” the teenager added.

Apart from being a medium pacer, Akash is also a handy lower-order batsman and an athletic fielder.

“I am a huge fan of Zaheer Khan’s bowling and hope to make it as big as him one day,” he said.

Currently, Akash is preparing himself for the Challenger Trophy 2017, which acts as the gateway to state-level cricket from the district level.

“I tried out for the U16 Challenger Trophy recently. Out of 1300 players, only 150 were selected for medicals, with me being one of them. From among the 150, only 90 players will be selected for the Challenger Trophy and I am hoping to make the cut,” Akash said.

When asked what he meant about getting selected for the medical, he explained, “The menace of age-fudging still plagues junior level cricket, which is why state associations conduct medical tests on age group players.”

Here's the scorecard for the match: