'How are you, brother?'
Aamir Khan's mouth was a little surprised to hear this question in clear Bengali! I was not prepared to talk to a Pakistani cricketer in Bengali. Amir has been in Bangladesh for two years. It is supposed to learn a little Bengali in such days. But I did not think that he would speak Bengali so clearly without any inertia. I managed myself and said, 'I am fine. Your Bengali is great!'
Aamir smiled after hearing this. After hearing what he said in broken Bengali, it became clear, 'I don't know Bengali well. Trying to learn.' The sentences didn't sound as clean as before. The foreign pull was considerable. I understand that Aamir has captured 'how are you' so far. At least enough to shock any Bangladeshi.
Aamir's cricket-journey story will also surprise many. In the Lahore family where he was born, cricket was not the first choice. Legendary squash player Jahangir Khan is their distant relative. Everyone in the family had a different passion for squash.
Amir is an exception. He loved cricket. The journey of becoming a professional cricketer started from school cricket. Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf studied in the same class with Amir in Lahore's Muslim Model School. The 27-year-old left-arm spin bowling all-rounder could not climb the school cricket ladder to the national level. But he was a regular in Pakistan's domestic cricket. Played for Lahore Cricket Association for almost 10 years. Played for State Bank of Pakistan.
