My parents couldn’t afford to buy me cricket kits: Lungi Ngidi

Young South African speedster Lungi Ngidi has made a big name for himself at the international level in such a short span of time. His story has been very inspirational for a lot of other young bowlers in the country. It is worth noting that when team India were set to begin their tour of South Africa, Ngidi was not even a part of the South African Test squad. After Dale Steyn got injured in the first Test, Lungi Ngidi found himself in the squad for the next Test.

He made his Test debut at his home venue in Centurion. Much to his delight, he had a dream debut as he scalped 6/39 in the second innings of the game to help South Africa register an unassailable lead in the series. In the innings, he had also dismissed the Indian captain, Virat Kohli. During the game, it was heartening to see how his family supported him and cheered for him from the stands.

Recently, as per the quotes in Livemint, Lungi Ngidi reflected back in time when his parents could not afford to get a cricket kit for him. However, instead of feeling bogged down by it, Ngidi saw it as an opportunity to become a bowler. And now, he feels privileged to see his family members come to Johannesburg to cheer him up from the stands.

“My parents couldn’t afford to buy me cricket kits. Even when I went for trials and was selected for district competitions, I never had batting equipment. I saw that as an opportunity to become a bowler. It just happened that way, pushing me towards becoming a fast bowler,” Lungi Ngidi quoted.

“After all these years, cricket has afforded me the opportunity to bring my parents to Johannesburg for the first time, to stay in a hotel and watch me play Test cricket. Not many people get to do that and through cricket I have been able to improve my parents’ lives,” he added.

On playing with MS Dhoni soon

Also during the Test series, Lungi Ngidi got the big news of being picked in the IPL Auctions. The Chennai Super Kings roped him in their franchise. Commenting on the same, Ngidi noted that it would be dream come true to play with someone like MS Dhoni.

“I have been to India before with the South Africa Under-19 team, but the IPL feels like a bigger stage. I will be playing with Dhoni, which is a dream come true for any young cricketer,” Ngidi remarked.

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