The Indian cricket team is littered with talent all over from every single part of the country. Most of these players work really hard to make it to where they are. These humble backgrounds make them stronger individuals and they end up staying grounded due to this. Here is a look at five Indian players who have come from humble backgrounds:
1. MS Dhoni
The legendary Indian captain has won it all in the sport. He is India’s most successful captains and is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Dhoni however, still remains as humble and calm from the day he made his debut.
This is because he faced a lot of challenges before making it big in the game. Dhoni came from Ranchi, a relatively small city in the state of Jharkhand and worked as a ticket collector at the Kharagpur station whilst training for the game. He also had a biopic done and it chronicles his journey to the zenith of the sport.
2. Ravindra Jadeja
The Indian all-rounder is now considered one of the best bowlers in Test cricket today and is one of the key men in the Indian cricket team. Things weren’t so smooth for him initially though. Jadeja’s father was a security guard and he wanted him to become an Army officer.
Jadeja however almost quit the game when his mother passed away in 2005. He worked really hard and was part of the squad that won the Under 19 World cup, captained by Virat Kohli. He has now established himself as a great all-rounder in world cricket.
3. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The Indian swing bowler comes from a lower-middle class family in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Despite not being very poor, he had a humble background. His father was an ASP in the police department and he was only encouraged to take up the sport by his sister.
Around the age of 13 years, he figured out that he was talented enough to make it to the Indian team and worked really hard. He was rewarded with his debut for the Indian team in the series against Pakistan.He picked up wickets in his first ever over and has not looked back since.
4. Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav had a very good England series and is seen as the spearhead of the Indian attack. The burly pacer however had a very tough childhood, with his father working as a coal miner. Yadav also applied to the Indian Army unsuccessfully. He was drafted in the Vidarbha squad and slowly made his way to the Indian squad and establishing himself.
5. Irfan Pathan/Yusuf Pathan
The Pathan brothers lived a very frugal life in a mosque as the sons of a local muezzin. Their father wanted them to become Islamic scholars, but they believed in their talent. Irfan broke through into the Indian team as a swing bowler before Yusuf made his entry as an explosive batsman. They remain as humble as ever despite their success and this can only be attributed to their humble backgrounds.
By Rohit Nair
