While Jasprit Bumrah's career soars, his grandfather drives auto-rickshaws for survival

Jasprit Bumrah’s fairytale story has been an inspiration to many: from being an unknown entity just a few years ago, he has graduated to being a regular in India’s limited-overs teams in one season. It all started when he was bought for a whopping Rs. 1.2 crore by Mumbai Indians in the 2014 IPL auctions and the death-bowling specialist hasn’t looked back ever since.

While all seems hunky dory with the Indian pacer now, it is not exactly going well for another Bumrah two generations his senior, his 84-year-old grandfather.

According to media reports, Santok Singh Bumrah, who resides in the Uddham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand, drives autos for survival and stays in a shoddy rented apartment.

The ill-fortune struck the Bumrah family in 2001, when Jasbir Singh, Jasprit’s father, passed away. Jasprit’s mother Daljit, a school principal, single-handedly raised the children and made sure that the then 7-year-old got all the resources he needed to succeed in life.

Santok Singh has seen his grandson play only on television (Image courtesy: ABP)

“After my son’s death (Jasprit’s father), there was no one to take care of the business. I was getting old, so I had to sell off the factories and come and stay here”.

The death devastated the whole family and forced them out of business. Since loans had to re-paid, there was no option left but to let go off the factories.

After selling off the factories, Santok Singh moved to Uttarakhand, where he bought four tempos with the hope of starting a new business venture. However, it could not kick off the way he wanted, and he went into losses once again.

Jasprit, on the other hand, has seen his stocks rise in cricket at lightening speed. Having made his international debut against Australia in 2016, Bumrah has quickly developed from a nervous young pacer to a confident yorker specialist who has managed to trouble the best. His 28 wickets in T20Is last year remains a record for most in a calendar year. He also rose to the second spot in the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers.

It is extremely saddening to see the plight of the old man, who continues to struggle for survival even though his own grandson is a star in the Indian team. Just like the rest of the country, he has only seen Bumrah play on television and is extremely happy for the 23-year-old’s success. His only wish is to meet his grandson once and hug him.

While Bumrah, with his packed playing schedule, might be oblivious to it all, he would, perhaps, want to come out and do something for his grandfather once he does get to know.