He came to the city of dreams from Ranchi in 2017, landed at the Kurla station and ended up staying in a room in a slum with 12 other people. Over the next eight years, he waited tables, was thrown out by his landlord, slept at a train station, even learnt to roll sushi at a local kitchen to earn his keep.

Today, Irfan Umair is Mumbai ’s newest Ranji debutant, his left-arm fast bowling with a long run-up offering the team that crucial X-factor in their opening Ranji Trophy game against Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar starting Wednesday.

“For me, reaching Mumbai wasn’t the problem but survival was,” Umair told The Indian Express . “I came with Rs 5,500 and soon it was almost over. A friend of mine, with whom I shared a room, advised me that I can do catering work… thoda kharcha nika

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