Watch: Jasprit Bumrah Reveals How He Was Picked Up By Mumbai Indians

Jasprit Bumrah‘s meteoric rise in international cricket has taken many by surprise. The Gujarat star had first grabbed the eyeballs with his unorthodox action, and then his bowling skills. While he impressed one and all with his bowling for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League as well as in the domestic circuit, very few were hoping to see him making his debut for the national team as early as 2016.

But destiny had some other plans and he went on to make his debut for Team India during the tour of Australia in 2016. His economical bowling and the wicket-taking abilities have made him one of the most sought after pacers in world cricket at the moment. The right-arm pacer has become an indispensable part of the limited-overs team but it would  not have been possible for him to climb the ladder of success so quickly had former India coach John Wright not attended a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game between Gujarat and Mumbai in 2013.

Wright, who was the Mumbai Indians head coach then, had gone to see some players and was impressed by Bumrah and it ultimately culminated with the bowler getting a contract from the IPL outfit. Bumrah revealed the incident during an episode of What The Duck.

“That was my last year in Under-19 cricket. I had done an NCA ( National Cricket Academy ) camp and I was playing for Gujarat. That year I was in the circuit for the Ranji Trophy but I didn’t play. So I had only played Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. So our first game was against Mumbai and some Mumbai Indians players were playing,” he said.

“So John Wright had come to watch. Usually you think as a child that these stories happen that somebody comes to watch and you get picked up but it actually happened. He saw two matches and then I got a phone call from Mumbai Indians who wanted to sign me up,” he added.

Well, the rest in known to every one as Bumrah went on to become an integral part of the Mumbai Indians team. The India pace spearhead also spoke about his Team India debut, his school life and much more.

Here is the full interview: