A hugely promising start with England was cut short by injury but Haseeb Hameed is staying focused and grounded for the challenges ahead

Andrew McGlashan17-Jan-2017A Test debut in Rajkot and within touching distance of a century. A gutsy rearguard in Vizakhapatnam ended by a grubber. A defiant half-century in Mohali with a badly broken finger. Chatting with Virat Kohli. Tea with Sachin Tendulkar.Haseeb Hameed turned 20 on Tuesday. His teenage years certainly finished with a range of experiences few will manage in a lifetime.Nearly two months on he has had time to reflect. The finger is healing and he has just been given the go ahead to resume batting ahead of the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka. He will be part of the squad for the two four-day matches before thoughts turn to the start of the season with Lancashire and, eventually, the summer duels against South Africa and West Indies.Listening to Hameed it is clear he loves the game. That may sound an obvious statement in relation to someone who earns their living from the sport. However, it does not always come across from some players. Hameed benefits from youth – age has not wearied him – and a grounded upbringing aided by a close-knit family, but that does not mean he has not been through experiences that could have challenged his impressively positive demeanour.There was being dropped for last year’s Under-19 World Cup – something that, despite what he has achieved since, still rankles – not to mention the bust finger when he was days away from a Test appearance in Mumbai, a place of such significance in Hameed’s upbringing.”I’m a genuine believer in what happens, happens for the best,” he said. “I didn’t get selected for the Under-19 World Cup and everyone was like, it’s the biggest tragedy in the world, where are you going to go from here? And I was devastated at the time, of course I was. But I knew I was going to achieve something better through that and I’ve got no doubt it will be the case with this as well.”

“Nothing changes because of the fact that I’ve played for England. In your social life it may change but I’m a cricketer and I’ve got to make sure I keep progressing”

He was, however, “devastated” when he was told that the injury was more significant than he first thought. Although it was the blow in Mohali from Umesh Yadav that ultimately shattered the little finger on his left hand – the ball leaping off a length to smash into the glove and lob to gully – he is “99.9% sure” that the finger was first cracked the match before in Vizag by Mohammad Shami very early in his innings of 25 off 144 balls.”When I’ve been hit on the gloves in the past there’s a bruise and you shake it off, but this one after a couple of balls I lost all my strength in my top hand. We were trying to block out for a draw, so just tried to face as many balls as I could. Each time I tried to play a shot it was a natural reminder to stay in my box.”After the second blow in Mohali he initially would still not concede his fate. By then he knew he had a fracture, but in a message exchange with his brother believed the 10-day gap before the Mumbai Test would allow him to heal. “Maybe naivety, or innocence, whatever it was but then finding out it was more series was quite heart-breaking,” he said.”I’m trying not to make it sound like I’m being this cult hero by wanting to stay but I was genuinely devastated when I found out. I’d reached a point where I was happy with the way I performed in that innings and straightaway being told I had to leave was straight to rock bottom.”Even when, ultimately, common sense prevailed Hameed was quickly making plans to return to India to watch the final two Tests. He even went to such lengths as not having a general anaesthetic when the surgeon pinned and screwed his little finger back together so he could quickly get back on a plane. A few days later Keaton Jennings scored a century on debut in Hameed’s position. Watching on from the stands he would have been forgiven for dwelling on how it could have been him.”I can honestly say there was not a single part of me that felt ‘oh no, why’s he scored a 100?'” he said. “It’s actually really good to see two guys who have just played county cricket make that step up to international cricket and make it, maybe not seamlessly, but perform there at the first go. So it should give a lot of confidence to the county game and a lot of county players as well.”Neither did Hameed let the injury prevent him continuing his cricketing education. After the Mohali Test he sat with Kohli and talked about the mental approach to batting, although the conversation needed a little help getting off the ground. “I actually asked Moeen Ali if he could go over because I think Moeen knew him, and he introduced me to him and said ‘Has is a big fan’ and he said ‘I know’.”Then, later, came the chance meeting with Tendulkar after a security guard recognised Hameed as he stood outside his house in Mumbai. Some of Tendulkar’s insights were about how to deal with what comes next.Haseeb Hameed made an instant impression on Test debut•AFP”That is actually one of the things that Sachin did mention: there’ll be a lot of people who come to you with advice and things that may interest you but you’ve got to make sure that you hold people that you trust close to you. In other words it’s for me to make sure that whatever’s got me to this stage I continue doing it, nothing changes because of the fact that I’ve played for England. In your social life it may change, you tend to get a few more retweets, but at the end of the day I’m a cricketer and I’ve got to make sure cricket is the most important thing for me, which it is, and I keep progressing with that.”So 2017 begins with huge expectations around Hameed. It may help him, therefore, that he will not be quite in the same spotlight until July when England’s Test matches resume against South Africa. The two four-day matches in Sri Lanka will be followed by Lancashire’s pre-season and then the County Championship.It is also expected that Hameed will earn a chance in Lancashire’s white-ball side. He has yet to play a professional one-day or T20 match, but while he acknowledges his patience with the bat is a virtue he is keen to show his adaptability.There has already been a glimpse, and with a broken finger, when he suddenly came out of his shell in Mohali as England’s innings threatening to wither away. In the space of two overs he twice slog-swept R Ashwin as he moved from 23 off 129 balls to 59 off 155.What prompted the sudden change? “I was batting with Jimmy,” he said with a laugh, no fluffing of Anderson’s batting ego by his Lancashire team-mate.The England management have done nothing other than tell Hameed to trust his own game, but he admitted the early days of his career may have forged perceptions that he has to shake. “I’ve got no doubt a lot of people still feel that way [that he is not a white-ball player]. I’ve got aspirations to play all three formats. I don’t know if people take me seriously when I say that, but at the end of the day it’s down to me to perform and if I get the chance for Lancashire it will be a great experience.”There could be a concern that he will feel rushed into making a point and hamper the qualities that make his long-form skills such an asset. He has plenty of time in the years ahead to develop. You sense, though, he will not let himself fall into that trap. Hameed is focused, driven and mature. And he’s only 20. It promises much for English cricket.Haseeb Hameed was attending a Chance to Shine Street event, supported by Lycamobile. To find out more about Street cricket and to get involved go to chancetoshine.org/street</small