Jasprit Bumrah Turns Nostalgic, Recalls Struggling Days When He Could Only Afford ‘One Pair of Shoes & T-Shirt’ (Watch Video)

Jasprit Bumrah walked down the memory lane and recalled his childhood struggling days when he – now the poster boy of India’s pace attack – could only afford one pair of shoes and one T-shirt. The World No 1 bowler in ICC’s ODI rankings and his mother Daljit turned nostalgic recalling the tumultuous days they endured when Bumrah, then just 5 years of age, lost his father. Bumrah at 25 is already the leader of India’s pace attack across all formats and also leads Mumbai Indians’ bowling tank in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is, however, currently out of action due to stress fracture on his lower back. KL Rahul Calls Jasprit Bumrah a ‘Potential Talent’, Says ’The Pacer Will Get Better With Time.

“When he was five-year-old, I lost my husband,” says Daljit Bumrah in a short video released by Mumbai Indians on its social media handles. The video is captioned “Talent can come from anywhere and reach the pinnacle of success.” ‘Watch the transformational journey of @Jaspritbumrah93 from a rookie to a world-beater.” It features IPL franchise Mumbai Indians’ owner Nita Ambani, who can be seen speaking at the Sports Business Summit that took place at London on Monday.

The Transformation of a Rookie to a World-Beater

"Talent can come from anywhere and reach the pinnacle of success. I would like to share with you the transformational journey of a young boy who was discovered by Mumbai Indians from a small time of India," says Mrs Ambani before the screen starts playing a short video clip featuring Bumrah and his mother. The video reminisces the speedster’s inspirational journey from local a lead in Ahmedabad to the Indian cricket team.

After the death of his father “we couldn’t afford anything,” says Bumrah in the video. “I had one pair of shoes. I used to have one pair of T-shirt. I used to wash them every day and use it again and again. So, as a child, you know you hear stories that sometimes these things happen that some people come and watch you and you get picked up like this. But it actually happened,” he added.

No Place Like London

The right-arm pacer burst into the cricket scene in 2013 when he was picked by Mumbai Indians to play in the IPL. “The first time when I saw him on that IPL match on TV, I couldn’t stop crying. He has seen me struggle financially and physically also,” said Bumrah’s mother struggling to speak with tears filling her eyes as he recalled the past.

He has reached the peak of ODI bowling rankings in just six years of international cricket and is also ranked third in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. “All these tough times make you strong because you’ve seen tougher days before,” concluded Bumrah. The Video ends with Mrs Ambani saying “Today Bumrah is an inspiration to many.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 09, 2019 10:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).