U-19 cricket: Kannur boy Nazil claims 10 wickets in an innings

Kochi, May 5: Bowlers claiming all ten wickets in an innings is a rarity in cricket and more so in junior level cricket. But on Wednesday 18-year-old Nazil CT from Kannur became the first bowler to achieve the unique feat of claiming all ten wickets in an innings in Kerala's junior inter-district tournament history.

Nazil was the cynosure of all eyes on the opening day of two-day U-19 inter-district cricket match at the KCA stadium in Perinthalmanna as his ten-wicket haul helped his side, Kannur, bundle out Malappuram for just 26 in their first innings. The lad who has just completed his plus two ended up with figures of 9.4-2-12-10 Nazil, who considers himself predominantly a swing bowler, was ecstatic at his achievement. "I'm an inswing bowler and I don't strive for much pace and it helped that the ball moved around in the morning," he said.

Out of his 10 scalps, 4 were bowled and three were leg-before wickets which exemplifies the fact that he kept probing the stumps.

Nazil comes from a family with a cricketing background. Fabid Farooq, the off-spinner who made his first-class debut for Kerala last season, is the son of Nazil's uncle. Nazil nurses ambitions of following the footsteps of his cousin and playing Ranji Trophy.

"I would like to play for Kerala one day. For the moment, it's about doing well for my district team," said the pacer who idolises Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, another swing