“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he said. “I had to make sure that no one steals it. You don’t know how famous Kurla is for thieves. Maloom pada kal yehi cup station ke bahar bik raha hai.”

Abdulla was away from Mumbai for a large part of the time when MNS activists targeted lesser-known migrants from his home state, accusing them of taking away opportunities that the party claims belongs to Maharashtrians.

“I heard about it when I was in Kuala Lumpur,” he said, adding partly tongue-in-cheek, “Badebhai, I am joining Marathi-speaking classes soon.”

Back in UP, politicians are vying with each other to felicitate Abdulla. The ruling BSP has announced a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh while a local SP leader offered his parents a plot on the outskirts of Azamgarh.

Niyaz broke down when he met his son yesterday: “I always thought that Iqbal should never play cricket, it was my belief that sport doesn’t have any future. But he has proved me wrong,” said the father.

With fame and some money pouring in, Abdulla is keen to change a few things. Like getting a first-class pass to travel in Mumbai’s local trains instead of the second class one which he says is a “pain”. As a newcomer to Mumbai, he used to be thrilled watching planes take off and land at the airport as his house was on the flight path. Later this week, he will be putting his parents on a plane home, their first flight.