Exclusive: How Bumrah’s alma mater and mother combined to fuel a dream

This is the second time in a little over two years that Ahmedabad will host India in an ICC World Cup final — and it’s a special occasion for the sprawling Nirman High School in the busy residential area of Vastrapur. The alma mater of Jasprit Bumrah, easily the most feared fast bowler in contemporary cricket, it is also an emotional sanctuary for him, given his mother Daljit used to be vice-principal of the school’s pre-primary section in his growing years.

This is where the gawky teenager — Jassi to his mother, who brought him up as father Jasbir passed away when the star was barely seven — took his first steps with his unique bowling action at the nets after school. A visit to the premises on a Friday afternoon showed how some things have not really changed over 15 years, as a group of 10-15 trainees went through their paces in all earnestness under the watchful eye of Rajeev Desai, a former first-class cricketer from Gujarat, who has been in charge for two years.

While Bumrah was first spotted by the school’s two erstwhile coaches: Kishore Trivedi and Ketul Purohit, Desai told National Herald that he was among the selectors who chose the speedster and Axar Patel for the Under-19 state team and then their white-ball set-up for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

‘’While Bumrah was from Ahmedabad, Axar honed his skills in Nadiad, a small town around 45 minutes’ drive from here. Their success stories have taught these boys to raise the bar though the path is not easy at all…ask them and they will say they dream to play for India,’’ Desai said.

As one crossed the deserted foyer after school hours, it was impossible to miss the illustrious student on their Wall of Fame, in a photograph which read: ‘Ex-student of Nirman: Jasprit Bumrah; we are proud of you’, showing a younger Bumrah in a Mumbai Indians shirt. It’s certainly testimony to the fact that John Wright, former New Zealand captain and MI spotter, decided to invest in a 19-year-old with a quirky action, which delayed his foray at the state level.

When the ICC T20 World Cup trophy for 2026 was on a roadshow of India and Sri Lanka, Nirman School was almost a natural choice as a pit stop on 20 January, and the school management and students lived up to the opportunity with gigs, putting the trophy on display for the public and inviting Bumrah’s mother as guest of honour.

‘’The presence of Dalbir Bumrah was a big bonus for us. We could have got our famous alumni as a guest of honour but the programme coincided with the T20I series against New Zealand just before the World Cup,’’ remarked Dr Ashis Desai, the school's managing trustee.

The role Dalbir played as a single mother for Jasprit and his sister Juhika has been well documented on the odd occasion when the enigmatic star has decided to open up in interviews.

Speaking to Sportstar ahead of the 2023 ICC World Cup, Trivedi — one of Bumrah’s earliest mentors — revealed that it took his mother a while to be convinced about allowing her son to pursue an unconventional career in a middle-class household, ahead of academics.

“Initially, Jasprit took things casually and wasn’t quite disciplined. So one day, his mother called me and asked whether he indeed had a future in cricket. I told her that Jasprit certainly had talent and if he came to my camp regularly, I would try and make him ready for at least state-level cricket,” says Trivedi.

It’s now part of Indian cricket folklore how Bumrah’s first breakthrough at the state level came in SMAT in March 2013 and a month later, he made a striking IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore with three wickets. His face-off with RCB captain Virat Kohli, when he conceded three boundaries before dismissing him, was possibly the beginning of one of cricket’s most fascinating saga over the last decade.

At a time when the sport is grappling with a serious shortage of entertainers, one only hopes that the show just goes on.