Making it to the 42-time champions Mumbai side isn’t easy. For Juned, it was a dream come true when skipper Ajinkya Rahane handed him the team’s cap on the eve of the five-day Irani Cup match against the Rest of India here on Tuesday.

Nervousness, excitement and eagerness start with a bang were the things hitting Juned’s mind and he handled it well when the Rest of India began their first innings while chasing Mumbai’s first innings total of 537, on the red soil pitch of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Juned was right on target, scalping the prized wicket of opener and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (9), forcing him to play on the backfoot and Prithvi Shaw did the rest by diving to his right at fourth slip to complete the catch.

“That was an amazing start for me and for a minute I couldn’t believe in myself,” said Juned after Mumbai won the Irani Cup after 27 years here on Saturday.

Juned happens to be yet another cricketer from Uttar Pradesh, who chose to play for Mumbai instead of his own state despite being a native of Kannauj, almost 127km from Lucknow.

“It was my choice to play for Mumbai. In fact, I never tried to play cricket for anyone until 2019 when I met Abhishek Nayar Sir at his academy in Mumbai.”

In 2014, Juned, who comes from a family of farmers, left for Mumbai to earn a living. He started driving auto rickshaw after working as helper at a jeans factory in Andheri area of Mumbai. He drove auto rickshaw from 2015 to 2018 before joining Sanjeevani Cricket Academy in 2019.

“After seeing my passion for cricket, Abhishek Sir told me to stop driving auto and stay focussed on cricket. It changed my life as I always wanted to be a fast bowler. He also assured me of all possible help. I didn’t have a bowling spike for a longer period I kept bowling, sporting rubber studs,” Juned added.

“I got my licence of auto driving but didn’t have my card of the Mumbai Cricket Association, and even before I could apply for the same, the Covid struck the nation and everything came to a standstill for almost two years,” recalled Juned.

“But I never lost my focus and kept working hard on my fitness.”

Life took a full circle again as Juned was roped in as a net bowler by the Kolkata Knight Riders and he didn’t look back. He performed well in the local club cricket, plied his trade in Karnataka Cricket Association events, and played the Bucchi Babu Tournament.

“I couldn’t sleep for two days after learning about my Mumbai debut here,” he added.

Juned, who dreams of becoming a pacer like Mohammed Shami, said he still lives with his auto driver friends in Bandra, Mumbai, and watching Team India pacer Mukesh Kumar in the match was a big learning experience for him.

“You always learn from your seniors, and it was quite exciting to see Mukesh bhai bowling here,” said the pacer who wants to clock 140-145kmph in the coming days.

“I am bowling somewhere around 130 kmph but wish to increase it to 140-145 kmph at the upcoming Ranji Trophy matches,” he said.