After a spell as England’s 12th man at last year’s Blind World Cup, Tooting visually impaired cricketer Hassan Khan is determined to impress against India – and he warns they’re not coming over for a picnic.

Khan and his England teammates are playing host to ODI and T20 world champions India next month, with one of the T20 matches due will be played at the iconic KIA Oval.

London Metro’s Khan has been part of England’s Visually Impaired squad for 10 years so he knows full well the challenge of taking on India.

And after watching from the sidelines in England’s World Cup fixtures out in South Africa at the end of 2014, Khan believes he could prove the difference in their upcoming series.

“I’m from a Pakistani background so to play against India anytime, anywhere is just immense,” he revealed.

“To play India at the Oval, 15 minutes away from my home in my home county is a dream come true.

“You always think you’ve run out of dreams because you’ve been in the game for so long but you never do.

“I want to be in that 11 and I want to play at home but my fear is that I won’t make the team.

“But I don’t want it to be about me – the aim is to beat the Indians so if I’m not in that team I’d still love it.

“To pull on that shirt would be like receiving my first cap against Sri Lanka all over again.

“We played India in the World Cup and they were brilliant but we believe we can beat them.

“They are the world’s best team and our challenge is to rise to it and prove that we’re on the same level if not better.

“Aggression is key. Yes, they’ve won a World Cup but they’re not coming here for a picnic that’s for sure.”

Khan has made it his mission to become indispensible to head coach Ross Hunter in the run-in to this important series.

The experienced player has spent all winter working on his bowling in an effort to become an effective all-rounder.

And after receiving limited match action in England’s journey to the World Cup semi-finals, Khan is eager to prove he deserves a place higher up the order.

“I didn’t play as many matches as I wanted in South Africa,” he added. “It was the first time I’ve found myself being the twelfth man which was difficult to deal with. But I understood that I had challenges and we had new players that the coaches wanted to trial.

“knew that I had to impress so that’s why I’m trying to become an all-rounder.

“You’ve got to give the captain a hand when the chips are down so that when he needs someone to bowl a few overs you can lend a hand.

“In the past I’ve played in squads where we were very experienced but perhaps didn’t have enough young blood.

“This time round we’ve got some sensational players who are under 21 and we can really cause India some problems.”

Support the England Visually Impaired team by attending a match, every match is free entry. Alternatively follow the team at ecb.co.uk and on ECB Twitter and Facebook sites. The ECB is an inclusive organisation providing support and a pathway for disability cricket from grassroots to elite.