Aayan Khan becomes youngest to play in T20 World Cup: All you need to know about the UAE teenager

UAE's teenage sensation Aayan Khan scripted history on Sunday (October 16) as he became the youngest player to feature in the T20 World Cup. The young batting all-rounder was in the playing XI as UAE locked horns with Netherlands in their opening game of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022.

Khan broke the record held by former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir as he made his maiden T20 World Cup appearance at the age of 16 years and 335 days. It was not a perfect outing for Khan on his T20 World Cup debut but the game ended up being a massive learning experience for the teenage prodigy.

It was a thrilling last-over finish as Netherlands survived a mighty scare in the run-chase to beat UAE by three wickets. Khan, who came out to bat at number eight for UAE, found himself in a tricky situation as his team were 104/6 with just nine balls left in the innings.

Khan scored 5 off 7 balls before he was caught by Fred Klaassen off the bowling of Tom Cooper on the penultimate delivery of the final over as UAE finished with 111 runs on the board in their quota of 20 overs. Their bowlers produced a valiant effort but failed to defend the total as the game went down the wire.

Ayan, a right-hand batter and a left-arm spinner, also bowled three overs during Netherlands' run-chase and managed to get his first wicket in the T20 World Cup. He dismissed Colin Ackermann on 17 off 19 balls to bag his maiden wicket and finished with impressive figures of 1/15 off his three overs.

All you need to know about UAE's teenage prodigy Aayan Khan

Khan, who was born in the Indian state of Goa, rose through the ranks in UAE's domestic circuit before making his debut for the national team during their tour of Bangladesh in September earlier this year. The 16-year-old was part of the UAE U-19 team during the ICC U-19 World Cup in January this year where he impressed with the bat.

Khan played a brilliant knock of 93 runs in a clash against West Indies in the U-19 World Cup before he was fast-tracked into the national team. He was first included in UAE's reserves for the Asia Cup qualifiers before making his debut against Bangladesh in September.

The talented teenager idolises Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, however, his bowling action has been modelled on another Indian star - Ravindra Jadeja. His father wanted him to bowl with his left arm as he wanted his son to be a fast bowler like former India pacer Irfan Pathan, however, Khan's coaches at the Desert Club where he trains in the UAE decided to turn him into a spinner.

"He has a good head on his shoulders and reads the game really well," said UAE captain CP Rizwan lauding the 16-year-old. He also praised him for his good bowling performance in the game against Netherlands and said the talented youngster has a big future in the game.

"To be able to execute his skills in a World Cup game, I thought he bowled reasonably well. I'm sure there's a big future for him," the UAE captain added.