India, May 24 -- A ten-year-old Prince Yadav had just returned from a tennis-ball game to his home in Dariyapur Khurd village, Najafgarh, when he stood before a mirror and told himself: 'I want to play for India'. Not long after, coach Amit Vashistha spotted him while passing a local ground on his scooter - a chance moment that would change everything. Fifteen years later, and now an IPL sensation, Prince was asleep in a five-star hotel in Jaipur when his phone rang. He had just been picked for India's upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan. "I woke up to my phone buzzing. I picked up and it was Sanjeev Goenka sir (owner of his IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants) breaking the news to me that I was in the Indian team. It took me 30 seconds to register. I got goosebumps and suddenly saw myself standing in front of that same mirror again. Uske baad khushi ke aansu girne lage," he says. "I called maa and she was sobbing. Then papa asked, 'Are you sure yeh news sach hai?'" he recalls, before laughing at his dad's immediate follow-up: "Bahut badhiya, lekin abhi next IPL match pe focus karo." A few weeks ago, Prince steamed in at 150 km/h and sent Virat Kohli's stumps cartwheeling within two balls. "Virat bhaiya's wicket will always be special because of everything I've learnt from him," he says, adding, "One thing he told me was: come what may, never focus too much on the result. I'm very excited to now share a dressing room with him and Rohit (Sharma) bhaiya." The road, however, was far from easy. A two-year suspension for age-fudging in 2019 left him emotionally shattered. "Woh do saal bahut mushkil the. Kaafi logon ne saath chhod diya. But Amit sir stood by me like a rock. He never let my dream fade," he says. Now, less than a month away from his India debut, Prince is hungrier than ever: "Meri bhook bahut zyaada badh gayi hai. I don't want to be known as that player jiske baare mein log bolein, 'haan, isne ek series kheli thi'. I want to prove myself at every stage for my country."...