'I had one pair of shoes. I used to have one pair of T-shirt. I used to wash them every day and use it again and again.'
Reminiscing his tumultuous childhood days, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah revealed there was a time when he could only afford just one pair of shoes and T-shirt.
Much before he became the poster boy of India's pace attack he had to endure a tough time after losing his father at the age of five.
The 25-year-old, currently out of action due to a stress fracture on his lower back, and his mother Daljit Bumrah recalled those days of struggle in a video, tweeted by Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.
"When he was (a) five-year-old, I lost my husband," recalled Daljit.
The India bowler then joined in saying: "After that we couldn't afford anything. I had one pair of shoes. I used to have one pair of T-shirt. I used to wash them every day 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," he added.
Bumrah burst on the cricketing scene at the Indian Premier League in 2013 and within six years went on to become the world's number one ranked ODI bowler.
"The first time when I saw him in that IPL match on TV, I couldn't stop crying. He has seen me struggle financially and physically also," Daljit recalled.
The Gujarat pacer, who is currently in London to treat his injury, said: "All these tough times make you strong because you have seen tougher days before."
