Pragyan Ojha, former Indian cricketer, recently recounted how Rohit Sharma, the current national captain, has climbed the ranks to the unparalleled heights he enjoys today. Ojha and Rohit have been friends for a long time, and Ojha recalls first meeting him at a U-15 national camp. During an interview with JioCinema, he revealed one of his earliest memories of the Mumbai batsman, saying:
“He was from a middle-class family, and I remember he once got emotional when we discussed how his budget for cricket kits was restricted. He also delivered milk packets – of course, that was really a long time ago – so that he could buy his kit. Now when I see him, I feel very proud of how our journey started and where we reached.”
Here, we look at the impressive stories of three more current Indian cricketers who achieved great success despite their humble beginnings.
1) Ravindra Jadeja
Raised in a middle-class Rajput family in Jamnagar, Gujarat, the Indian cricketer’s father was a watchman. At 17, he had already lost his mother. His sister stepped up to take care of the family in her absence. Living in a single-room home provided to them by the government due to his mother’s service in a hospital, tragedy did not stop Jadeja from striving for success. He was selected for India U-19 in 2005 and eventually became the Vice Captain of the India U-19 team that won the World Cup in 2008.
2) Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah, an Indian Cricketer, has been recovering from a back injury. A video shared by Mumbai Indians in 2019 featured Jasprit talking about his childhood:
“After that (his father’s death), we couldn’t afford anything. I had one pair of shoes. I used to have one pair of T-shirts. I used to wash them 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.”
His hard work paid off when he was noticed by Mumbai Indians (MI) for the IPL 2013 season. Making his debut with the franchise, he dismissed Virat Kohli in his first outing, marking the beginning of his journey to success.
3) Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder for Team India, is popularly known for his lavish lifestyle. However, his childhood was quite difficult; his family was from Surat in Gujarat, and his father had to work all he could to make ends meet. His dad ran a small car finance business in Surat, which he closed down and relocated to Vadodara to give his two sons, Hardik and Krunal, a better cricketing experience at Kiran More’s Cricket Academy. He recalled:
“Five rupees ke maggi aati thi, malli ko request karke garam pani leta tha aur mein aur mere bhai ground pe bana ke khata the. Breakfast bhi wohi aur lunch bhi wohi (my brother and I used to get maggi for Rs 5, and we used to request the gardener to give us hot water, and we used to prepare and eat it at the ground for lunch and breakfast).