Hakim Khan, a 52-year-old Navi Mumbai resident and a noted fast bowler in his halcyon days in Mumbai cricket, has not had calls from the media for ages. He has long abolished the word ‘journalist’ from his personal lexicon. When his phone started ringing on Tuesday night, after his son Aman Hakim Khan hit a match-winning half century, against Gujarat Titans, to revive the Delhi Capitals’ fluttering hopes in this IPL season, Hakim Khan thought it was a prank call.

“Are you serious? he wondered. “I stopped getting calls from journalists long ago, so I thought it was a fraud call.” The happiness and eagerness to talk about his son’s exploits of the night, however, was evident in him. “Forget about me, write whatever you can about my son,” he would plead.

It’s obvious that cricket is Aman’s DNA and he has had the best possible education in the sport. Hakim sent Aman to the Shivaji Park Gymkhana in Dadar, the iconic club that has produced many greats of Mumbai and Indian cricket, including Ajit Wadekar, Sandeep Patil, Sanjay Bangar to name a few. He trained under Pravin Amre, also a former India batsman and an alumnus of the revered club.