Pakistan-born net bowler Awais Ahmed has caught the attention of the cricket world, notably India captain Rohit Sharma, after firing some quick yorkers towards the batter's toes.
Rohit praised the bowler after facing some fiery deliveries in the nets, and he also playfully told the young pacer that he was "trying to break his legs".
"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.
Rohit also praised the other net bowler, Wasim Akram, during the pre-match press conference.
"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.
"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."
For the duo, it was a surreal moment -- charging in with the new ball, Rohit at one end, and Virat Kohli at the other.
"Virat and Rohit bhai praised me after I bowled the same length that Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled to them," Awais told 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.
"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 Shubman Gill for close to two hours.
"It was a great experience to bowl to Shubman Gill, Rohit, and Kohli," Akram, who plays for Alif Pharma in the UAE domestic circuit, said.
The duo also bowled to Rishabh Pant and termed the Indian wicketkeeper-batter as the "toughest" of the lot.