He is remembered by many for his mankad dismissal; a famous incident of the 2016 ICC under 19 Cricket World Cup, but Richard Ngarava is also one of the fastest rising cricket stars in Zimbabwe.

The 19-year-old made headlines when he was dismissed in ‘controversial’ fashion by West Indies bowler Keemo Paul with Zimbabwe needing three runs in the final over during the U19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2016.

The West Indian ran through the bowling crease without entering his delivery stride and disturbed the stumps, catching the non-striker Ngarava with his bat on the line while standing a couple of steps out of his crease.

Almost a year later Ngarava is now playing for the senior cricket side.

‘Big Richie’ as he is called by his fellows made his international debut for Zimbabwe during the ongoing ODI series against Afghanistan .

He is playing his third ODI at the Harare Sports Club as Zimbabwe trail 0-2 in the series.

“I am so happy to play for country, it’s a dream come true,” Ngarava told SportsZone.

“This is an opportunity to show case my talent, I still have a lot to learn though” he said.

The lanky left arm seamer also opened up, for the first time, on his famous dismissal that torched debates across the cricketing world.

“About that, it’s life.

“At that moment I was so emotional about it,” revealed Ngarava.

“In the game of cricket you always learn something new, but now we can joke about it. Right,” he said.

The former Churchill pupil also admitted of nerves ahead of his next stage in cricket.

The Takashinga Cricket Club product is grateful his hard work has been rewarded and is keen to reach new heights.

“As a bowler I am looking forward to be one of the best in the country for the season.

“From the U19 I didn’t give myself time to rest that much.

“Working hard has been a thing of mine, it got me where I am and I should also credit (Steve) Mangongo and (Prosper) Utseya for that.”