Unearthing child prodigies

It was a chilly morning in Karachi on the 15th of November 1989. India was playing Pakistan with the feared Pakistani pace trio of Wasim, Waqar, and Imran raring to go. Like any other Indo-Pak cricket match, this was expected to be a high intensity, exciting match. But no one had predicted the historical relevance that this match will gain in the years to come, nor the magnitude of the occasion. India’s playing 11 had a 16-year-old Mumbai youngster making his debut for the country. Hailed as a child prodigy in India, people were excited to see whether he could soak up the pressure and perform at the big stage. And yes, he soaked it all up, not for a match or a series or a tournament or a year. He did it for 24 long years.