Living My Father's Dream: What Makes Hong Kong's World Record Holder Ayush Shukla Tick

How often has a bowler bowled four maidens in a T20 innings? Not many times, of course. In fact. It has happened just four times in the history of T20 cricket, and three of them have come in internationals. 

One of those is Hong Kong's Ayush Shukla, who achieved this rare feat in August of 2024.

Opening the bowling for Hong Kong that day in Kuala Lumpur, the pacer started off with a wicket maiden. With that out of the way, he then bowled 18 more deliveries, without conceding a single run, off the bat or via extras.

It's not something a bowler plans to do when he walks out to the field, but it certainly feels on top of the world when it actually comes off. 

Ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, Shukla recalls the over, saying that it was, in fact, in the middle of his final over, when he was feeling nervous.

"So, that's an interesting story. In my first two overs, first over, just trying to bowl as many dot balls as you would. So, I bowled one maiden over. They were like, great. And then I bowled a second over maiden," Shukla recalled in an interview with Cricket.com.

"And then after my third over, or maybe midway through my third over, they [teammates] were like 'You can actually do this. Go for it. Just don't try and overdo it and bowl a wide ball, but just keep going, keep bowling'.

"They're struggling to hit it. Just keep going. So, I just, I really just stuck to what I was doing. I kind of like pitched it up, and it was swinging away. They were like gentle outswingers. I was like, okay, if he drives, he's going to edge it. If he doesn't, then it's dot balls. It's a win for me.

"And then the last over is when the pressure built. I was like, okay, I have three balls left. I cannot mess this up, and I told the fielders, I was like, please do not misfield.

"Please, like, just don't. Make sure that we get this maiden. It was cool. I'm pretty glad that I can have a record like that and be part of the other two guys who have done it. So, it's been, it's pretty cool.

That was not the only time Shukla delivered for Hong Kong recently. In ACC Premier Cup 2024, which was a qualifier for the upcoming Asia Cup, Shukla delivered an excellent spell of 3/17 against a quality Nepal side in the third-place playoffs, which played a huge role in his side's win and their progress into the Asia Cup.

Shukla removed the top three in his opening burst, which initially restricted Nepal to just 139 and then a superb unbeaten 65 from Anshuman Rath sealed the match for Hong Kong. "Nepal's a great team. And so we knew who we were coming up against, especially a third-place game is very, very difficult sometimes to be motivated for," Shukla recalled. 

"We had just lost to Oman [in the semi-final], and we were pretty bummed about it because it was a close game. We wanted to win that. But we were able to get up the next day and come straight back. We realised we're playing for something, even if it's not to win the tournament, third place will still get us into the Asia Cup, will still get us forward into the tournament.

We just stuck to our plans. We've played a decent amount of Nepal, so we know the type of their players and how they approach the innings. We kept working as a team, and we were able to come over the line."

Hong Kong have been put in the same pool as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. Shukla says that his side will put up a good fight and are not in the tournament just to make up the numbers. "For this Asia Cup, we've come with the mentality of we're not here to participate," the 23-year-old said.

"We're not here just to show up, make up numbers. We're here to beat a team.

"We genuinely believe that we have every right to be in this tournament and to beat one of these teams. It's T20 cricket and anything can happen on any day. I think if we're able to perform, even if we're unable to get over the line in the three games, just to be on the field with professionals like them, it definitely gives us a boost and motivation for tournaments ahead."

Of course, he's no stranger to playing in the Asia Cup, either. In 2022, he played against India and Pakistan in Dubai and dismissed Rohit Sharma -- a massive moment for the youngster. However, more than the match itself, Shukla recalls the conversation he had in the dressing room with Rohit and other Indin players.

"Playing against India was a massive highlight. We play, most of us associate cricketers play cricket to be able to play in tournaments like that and against opposition like that. So it was an absolutely amazing experience. Those are like the top, top players of the world, right? So you really want to play as much against them," Shukla, who has a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Auckland, said.

"So yeah, getting Rohit Sharma's wicket was great. It was just something that, as a bowler, is my job, right? To get wickets. So I was definitely thrilled to be able to get an opportunity to bowl against him and to get his wicket.

"Afterwards, we were very fortunate to go into their changing room and spend a lot of time with them, just have chats, conversations, and it was great. Rohit said, 'Just stay true to yourself, to your strengths when it comes to cricket, you know. Back yourself in tough moments.'"

"There's a reason why you've been picked. There's been reasons why you're playing for your country. So in tough moments, you've got to really, you know, stand by yourself and be able to execute at that level."

Shukla may not have been playing for Hong Kong at the highest level had it not been for his father's persistence. Shukla was in the UK for further studies at the age of 15, and it was at that point that Shukla started taking the sport more seriously. 

His dad moved to Hong Kong in 1996 for work and has set up his own business in the country, which has been running for over 20 years.

"He was like, look, I want you to try and play and give it a go and give it a shot and play cricket. So I'm going to send you to the UK. So that's when I was like, okay, now I actually have to take it seriously," Shukla, who looked up to Dale Steyn growing up, said.

"He's always been the person that I really play cricket for on the days when I don't feel like getting up and playing. He's the person I played for." 

Now that he has played over 50 matches for Hong Kong, to go with plenty of Under-19 matches, Shukla says that he knows his dad is proud of his accomplishments, and in a way, is living his dream through his son.

"I know he's proud of me, but he has an awkward way of showing it. So I just allow it. I'm like, it's all right," he said.

I know you are proud of me. He's really pushing me to play. He really wants me to keep going because it's like he's living his dream through me. And a big reason why I continue is to make sure he's happy and he's kind of, like I said, living his dream through me."

Hong Kong have had their own share of ups and downs over the last few years, but one thing is for sure: You cannot keep them down for long. They will keep popping up and performing at the international stage and try to prove that they can indeed compete with the big guns, and young players like Shukla are one of the reasons behind the team staying relevant.