Kumar Kartikeya had not eaten lunch for a year: Coach Bhardwaj reveals MI youngster's sacrifices to play IPL

Kumar Kartikeya's coach Sanjay Bhardwaj revealed the struggles faced by the Mumbai Indians' youngster in his journey from a factory labourer to an IPL star.

Kumar Kartikeya had an IPL debut to remember as the Mumbai Indians youngster helped the 5-time champions end their wait for the first win of the IPL 2022 season in their ninth game on Saturday, April 30. Kartikeya's childhood coach Sanjay Bharadwaj said that the youngster particularly trained hard to learn the art of wrist spin to be successful in T20s, while also revealing the struggles faced by the spinner.

"His action was so smooth," Bharadwaj told ESPNcricinfo. "His use of fingers imparted action on the ball."

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The obsession to master the art landed the 15-year-old cricketer at Bharadwaj's academy in Delhi, who offered him a trial despite Kumar Kartikeya revealing that he would not be able to pay the fees.

Kartikeya then started working as a labourer in Ghaziabad, which was almost 80km away from the academy, to meet his daily ends. He used to work at night, managed to find a shared lodging facility nearby, and would often walk to the academy in the morning in a bid to save INR 10 for a pack of biscuits.

Bharadwaj revealed that Kartikeya started crying when the cook of his cricket academy offered the youngster lunch on his first day. It was because Kartikeya had not eaten lunch for more than a year.

"When the cook gave him lunch, Kartikeya began to cry: he hadn't eaten lunch for a year."