My family was not able to understand that playing cricket professionally was viable career : Jasprit Bumrah

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 seems to be in jeopardy after his back injury worsened ahead of India's ongoing home series against South Africa. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has said that he has not yet been ruled out of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Bumrah who has worked hard and fought his way to the top to be the cricketer that he is today has explained how tough his childhood was as his mother was the sole earning member of the family and urged Jasprit to excel at English language in order to get a stable job. His father passed away when he was young and his mother Daljit toiled hard to take care of him and his elder sister.

At the same time, the pacer also added that his mother who worked as a principal at a primary school never even prioritized cricket since the family was academically inclined and reckoned that playing professional cricket was not a viable career path.

I was very clear about what I wanted to do: Jasprit Bumrah

“I was very clear about what I wanted to do. My family was not able to understand that playing cricket professionally was a viable career path because my family was academically inclined, but it was always about cricket for me,” he told GQ in an exclusive interview.

“My mother was never firm in saying to me, ‘This is what you have to do’, but she did want me to have a career that would give me security. But that’s about it. She did not force anything on me, never told me I had to become a doctor or engineer,” he added.

Nonetheless, the pacer overcame all odds and stayed dedicated towards fast bowling. His efforts bore fruits when he was spotted by former India coach John Wright in 2013 during a domestic T20 game between Gujarat and Mumbai. Fortunately for Bumrah, Wright was scouting for the Mumbai Indians for that season's IPL and he immediately went on to draft the then emerging speedster.

The rest as they say is history and since then Jasprit has never looked back. He received his maiden India cap in January 2016 and has gone on to emerge as the Indian team's pace spearhead. Moreover, the 28-year-old has also been a valuable player of the Mumbai Indians for a decade.