As a kid, he wanted to be Adam Gilchrist with the bat and Brett Lee with the ball.
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Today he is 17-year-old Jason Sangha, and the youngest player in the history of the Prime Minister's XI has been dubbed "the next big thing" in Australian cricket.
The youngest player to ever earn a contract with New South Wales, Sangha simply shrugs off all the hype about his cricketing ability.
After all, the level-headed youngster still has a year to go at Waverley College before he can hook into full-time training with New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Sangha played a tour match against Pakistan last month and playing under the bright lights against Sri Lanka is a moment years in the making.
Sangha vividly recalls watching his hero Gilchrist slog sweep ball after ball into the stands as an eight-year-old, and it was then he decided he wanted to be like the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman.
Off he went to the ground he would one day call home - the SCG - to get some training, and a coach asked the question - what do you want to do?
"I said I wanted to open the batting, open the bowling, and wicketkeep," Sangha said.
"He looked at me and laughed and sort of said 'You can't do all three.' I said 'Well I want to be Adam Gilchrist, but I still want to be Brett Lee with the ball as well.'
"I just wanted to be everyone when I was little so it was good fun."
Sangha has come through the ranks with fellow teenager Arjun Nair and the duo will join forces in the Adam Voges-led Prime Minister's XI at Manuka Oval on Wednesday night.
The pair have both been dubbed two of the nation's brightest young talents, a tag that sees many athletes fall by the wayside.
But the two close mates aren't worried, they're enjoying every step of the ride.
"For me, this year so far has been pretty tough, dealing with the expectation now," Sangha said.
"There's no point over-stressing about it. Of course, I'm very privileged and honoured to have a [NSW] contract this year and I'm here doing my best.
"There's always going to be a lot of pressure, but I think that's what you want. You want a bit of a challenge and I'm all up for it."
Sangha has spent the summer in the New South Wales and Sydney Thunder camps, where he couldn't get enough of the "charismatic" Carlos Brathwaite.
Wind back a little further and he was one of the first ever graduates from the Michael Clarke Cricket Academy, and the two will meet again when the former Australian skipper coaches the Prime Minister's XI.
"It will be good if he remembers me," Sangha laughed.
"He was great, we got a little bit of an insight into what it would be like to be a professional cricketer. That was a big eye-opener for me at the start of my journey and it'll be good to see him again."
Prime Minister's XI squad: Adam Voges (c), D'Arcy Short (WA), George Bailey (TAS), Joe Burns, Sam Heazlett (QLD), James Pattinson (VIC), Alex Carey, Daniel Worrall (SA), Arjun Nair, Jason Sangha, Henry Thornton (NSW), Matthew Gilkes (12th man, ACT). Coach: Michael Clarke.
PRIME MINISTER'S XI
Wednesday 15 February: Prime Minister's XI vs Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval, 7.15pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
