IPL 2017: From waiter to Mumbai Indians pacer, Kulwant Khejrolia's giant leap

Mumbai, May 18: The Indian Premier League (IPL), in its journey of ten seasons, has witnessed several rags to riches stories.

IPL Special Site; Play-offs schedule; Photos

Cricketers from all walks of life have managed to impress the bidders with their performances in the domestic circuits and even a local clubs and earning big bucks.

IPL 2017: From waiter to Mumbai Indians pacer, Kulwant Khejrolia's giant leap — Kulwant Khejrolia (right) bowling at the nets. TV grab

IPL has time again proved that the performances for talent youngsters and their hard works never goes unnoticed and eventually players, who were never heard of in the past, were snapped by franchises.

One such inspiring story is of Mumbai Indians' medium pacer Kulwant Khejrolia. His dream of sharing the dressing room with the legends and modern day stars has come true this year.

The young pacer, who hails from a small village from Rajasthan, has played just 7 first class matches so far.

The left-arm pacer's journey from a waiter at a restaurant in Goa to becoming a pacer is an inspiration to those who want to make it big at this stage.

In a video interview shared by Mumbai Indians, the 25-year-old said, "I only started playing cricket about a year ago. Before that I was a waiter at a restaurant in Goa. I didn't tell my family that I was playing cricket."

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:28.10185185185185% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUMzenFAqTP/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">From being a waiter in Goa to playing for the Mumbai Indians - here's the @kulwantkhejrolia_official story. #CricketMeriJaan #MIPaltan #Paltan #MumbaiIndians #MI #Mumbai #IPL #Cricket #India</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Mumbai Indians (@mumbaiindians) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-05-17T16:24:50+00:00">May 17, 2017 at 9:24am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

"I didn't have the money to buy proper shoes, spikes, so I used to stay in the ground and work hard, evenings I used to go the gym. I never told my family I am going to play cricket." said Khejrolia.

"In Delhi, I got a break at LB Shastri club, which has given rise to players like Gautam Gambhir, Nitish Rana and Unmukt Chand.

"If I hadn't made something of my life, I would have had a lot to answer for. But now that I have made it here, folks back in my village and in my district are happy and very proud of me," he further added.

Khejrolia, may have not been able to make his debut for Mumbai this season, but the lessons learnt and training under best of coaches in MI would definitely help him do better in the domestic circuit and eventually get a chance, next year.

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