That thing called life

Not often in life do you get to meet your idol. Tariq Mahmood, a promising Under-19 player, who starred for Pakistan when they won the U-19 World Cup in 2004 was picked from obscurity because of the way his action resembled Muttiah Muralitharan's.

Years later Tariq finally got to interact with the master. To his pleasant surprise, Murali was very helpful (says a lot about how nice a person Murali is). Read on to see how the episode played out. Life really has a way of hitting you in the face when you least expect it.

PakPassion.Net: Did you get the chance to meet Murali?

Tariq Mahmood: Aqib took me to meet Murali when the teams were based in Lahore waiting for the second test. Aqib had told Vaas that we have our own Murali and Vaas had told Murali who then wanted to meet me. When we arrived, Vaas called to Murali who gestured at me, I wasn't sure what he meant and so I shrugged my shoulders.

Then Murali pointed at me and said 'Murali' and I nodded, then he called me over and asked me if I could speak English. I told him I couldn't and so Aqib came over to translate for us. I asked him anything and everything that I could think of and Murali answered in a very happy and friendly way, as though we'd been friends for years. He had an answer for every question about bowling that I could come up with, the most important advice he gave me that day was to keep control over myself at all times. He said that the bowler who is able to control his own reactions can stay in control of his bowling but when you lose control over yourself then you've lost control over your bowling too.

I asked him about every kind of delivery and he told me how to bowl it. Murali wanted me to come back the next day and practise with him in the nets but my team Sialkot had a final and I told him that. He told me that if I didn't get picked in the final XI then I should come and see him at 9 in the morning to join him in the nets for the day. He said that he had lots of stuff to show me and that he was very happy that there was another bowler so much like him.

PakPassion.Net: So did you play the final?

Tariq Mahmood: No. The next day was the day of the Lahore attacks. We heard the news at the toss, the news was so devastating that everything else was forgotten.