You tried to break my legs: Rohit hails PAK-born bowler after net session

With his quick yorkers directed at Rohit Sharma's toes, Pakistan-born net bowler Awais Ahmed caught the attention of the cricket world, including the revered India skipper.

Rohit praised the bowler after facing some fiery deliveries in the nets, and the India captain also playfully told the young pacer that he was "trying to break his legs" with his toe-crushing yorkers.  Check India vs Bangladesh live score, match updates and full scorecard here | ICC CHampions Trophy 2025

"You're a class bowler. Aap hamara joota, pair todne ki koshish kar rahe the inswinging yorker maarke. Badhiya! Thank you, aap log idhar aake humko help kar rahe ho, bada achha lag raha hai (You're a top-class bowler. With your inswinging yorkers, you were trying to break my legs, well done! Thank you for coming here and helping us," Rohit said.

The India skipper also spoke about Awais, and his other net-bowling colleague Wasim Akram, during the pre-match press conference here on Wednesday.

"Both of them were really good bowlers, I got a lot of feedback from our batters that they were really, really good, that's about it, and we had a little bit of time to chat with them as well, they live here," Rohit said.

"Other than that, I don't know much about them, this was the first time we saw them, and they were both really, really quality bowlers," he added.

As Rohit applauded the net bowler, Shubman Gill stood beside him, grinning in a video that has now gone viral on social media.

Gearing up for the Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, India had the services of two Pakistan-born pacers -- Awais and Wasim Akram -- to prepare for the threat posed by the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah on Sunday. 

The two young bowlers, now based in the UAE, grabbed the opportunity to impress India's top batters.

For the duo, it was a surreal moment -- charging in with the new ball, Rohit at one end, and Virat Kohli at the other.

Having struggled to break through in Pakistan, they moved to the UAE for better opportunities and suddenly, they were bowling to some of the world's best batters.

"Virat and Rohit bhai praised me after I bowled the same length that Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled to them," Awais was quoted saying in Gulf News.

"Kohli was happy that I maintained the line and length. My stock delivery is inswingers, but I beat him with the outswinger and could get the new ball to move both ways."  Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were also seen engaging with Awais after an intense net session.

The 23-year-old, who plays for Seven Districts Club in the UAE, had previously featured for Lahore Sikandar in the Pakistan Super League before shifting base 15 months ago.

"A lot of people just want to meet him, but for me to get an opportunity to bowl to him, I am really lucky," Awais added.

He was also seen taking some tips from veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who will lead India's attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.

"I'm happy that I got to learn a lot from Shami. He taught me how to bowl in UAE conditions," Awais said.

"He told me to stick to my natural bowling and gave me the confidence that I am doing everything perfectly."  Akram, a right-armer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bowled to Rohit, Kohli and Gill for close to two hours.

"It was a great experience to bowl to Shubman Gill, Rohit, and Kohli," said Akram, who plays for Alif Pharma in the UAE domestic circuit.

The duo also bowled to Rishabh Pant and termed the Indian keeper-batter as the "toughest" of the lot.