If Jasprit Bumrah’s mother hadn’t stopped him then he could well have been a Canadian cricket team player rather than India’s pace spearhead. The right-arm fast bowler said after studies his Plan B was to move to Canada where his maternal uncle stays.
In an interview with his wife, Sanjana Ganesan on Jio Cinema, Bumrah disclosed, there was some discussion on the now-gone possibility of the fast bowler relocating to Canada. “You wanted to go to Canada and set up a new life there?” Sanjana, the fast bowler’s wife, asked Bumrah.
“We have had these conversations before. Every boy wants to make it big and play cricket. Every street has 25 players who want to play for India. You have to have a backup plan. Our relative lives there. I thought I would finish my education and…my uncle lives there,” Bumrah replied.
The Mumbai Indians star that if the plan had eventually succeeded, he might have attempted to play for the Canadian cricket team. Bumrah also disclosed how his mother’s decision to oppose the plan eventually prevented it from succeeding.
“First, we thought we would go as a family, then my mum did not want to go there as it’s a different culture. I am very happy and very lucky that things worked out, Otherwise, I don’t know if I would have tried to play for the Canadian team and do something there as well. Glad it worked out here. I am playing for the Indian team and Mumbai Indians,” Bumrah said.
Fortunately, the decision turned out to be golden for the veteran pacer, who has now become the top bowling option for both the Indian team and his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI).
“I came to MI as a 19-year-old, that year I didn’t even expect to play Ranji Trophy, but then John Wright saw me. Over the years I have grown here, we have had an interesting journey we won 5 titles. It’s been a great journey,” the pacer said.
Bumrah is currently regarded as one of the best all-format bowlers in the world and MI have had a huge role to play in his development. He made his debut in IPL 2013 but played only two matches but it was next year in a match against RCB that the pacer really caught the attention of the world by cleaning up the great AB de Villiers and giving him a send-off, something which is rarely associated with Bumrah nowadays.
Since then, Bumrah has grown leaps and bounds, evolving into one of the greatest fast bowlers. Bumrah has picked up 150 IPL wickets at a staggering economy rate of only 7.35. For India, he has played 36 Tests, 86 ODIs and 62 T20Is, picking up 159, 149 and 71 wickets respectively.
