Meet Mohammad Izhar - the left-arm pacer from Bihar who caught the eye of MI

Mohammad Izhar had little time to savour the feeling of his IPL dream coming true As his name was called out at the IPL 2026 auction the leftarm pacer from Birpur in Biharrsquos Supaul district was already racing against the clock within 1520 minutes he needed to board a bus for a sixhour ride to Patna where the Vijay Hazare Trophy camp awaited himWhen the auction was on I was at home with my brothers in law While from the outside I was very excited and nervous I was very anxious about whether my name will come in the auction or not Finally the Mumbai Indians picked me and it brought in a different level of happinessldquoWhile I was feeling very good and excited about getting a chance to be in IPL I became very emotional Though everyone began celebrating at home I had to leave to catch the bus for Patna so I didnt celebrate it much Izhar recalled in an exclusive conversation with IANSThe fivetime champions have been renowned for unearthing uncapped gems through a robust scouting system Though they had a small purse in IPL 2026 auction picking Izhar for his base price of Rs 30 lakh is very much a signal that they may have unearthed another gem in the makingEven as he remained engaged with the trials of Kolkata Knight Riders Izhar recalled how the fivetime champions chose patience in having a look at him Though Mumbai Indians is a big franchise they are so humble which even words cannot explain When they called me for a trial I was at KKRs trialldquoBut despite being such a big team they waited for me to come for the trials When I reached I was very tired but I saw they waited for me and told me to rest for a while so that I could bowl comfortably after recovering I rested well and then went through the trials very well Its a very good franchise and the coaches there were very humbleIzhars cricketing journey began in Birpur a town in Supaul district where tennis ball cricket was the gateway to bigger dreams His transition to leather ball cricket came through a chance observation by his local mentor Jaichand who spotted raw talent that others missedJaichand bhaiya and Birbal bhaiya got me into leather ball cricket and taught me a lot for the last 23 years Previously I played tennis ball cricket and in one of the games Jaichand bhaiya saw me bowling and then he told me to start playing with a leather ballldquoI then went on to play for the district and initially it felt a little tough as I was straightaway playing these games without having played leather ball cricket before But it began so well that I havenrsquot looked back after that Birbal bhaiya is a star bowler himself I learnt a lot from him and Jaichand who himself was a cricketer he addedWatching legendary fast bowlers Mitchell Starc Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee also transformed Izharrsquos casual interest into a Junoon passion to play cricket Starc has always been my idol from the start Then seeing Akhtar and Lee take wickets brought in a junoon in me about playing cricket From the start it was not like I will play for India or be in IPL Gradually I started playing and those thing started to come in my mindldquoYou do get a good understanding of these things once you start to put yourself through the grind I started setting aims that I want to play for the state and do well there It was in my mind that I wanted to play in the IPL though the goal of playing for India is still at the top But I didnt anticipate that I will get picked this year So I am very thankful to God that I got picked for IPL this yearLike many young cricketers from smaller towns Izhars early journey wasnt paved with automatic support Bihars limited cricketing infrastructure meant initial struggles were there but his fathers growing belief in him transformed everythingWhen I started playing my father started giving me a lot of support He began to understand that I have games to play and do well in them The support from him grew so much that he started taking care of everything around me by himself Whenever I got small bruises he would put a bandage quickly at homeThe Bihar Cricket Associations faith proved equally crucial especially after Izhar had a disappointing previous season The backing from BCA officials including previous President Rakesh Tiwari allowed Izhar to rebuild confidence and rediscover form when it mattered mostLast year I did not get anything great in terms of performances I started preparing for this season early and the association trusted me to come good So I am very thankful for that to all of them in BCA I am very thankful for the chances because of which I got selected for the IPLldquoI had a good performance this time in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy taking nine wickets in five games in Kolkata where the IPL scouts saw me called me for trials got into the auction and now I will be in IPLIzharrsquos bowling arsenal centers on both inswing and outswing complemented by variations of slower ball essential for success in T20s Operating around 135 kmph Izhar acknowledges his game remains a work in progress particularly his execution of yorker and consistency with swing deliveriesI also have the yorker in my repertoire but I need to groom and polish it more In all I need to do everything better because I am not always perfect Like my in swing and out swing is not perfect yet and I need to work on it more I always try to work on the small things and make my bowling better Plus there are some variations of slower ball that I need to polish and groom moreWith an IPL deal in hand Izhar will have access to two masters of the craft Trent Boult whose leftarm swing bowling mirrors Izhars own style and Jasprit Bumrah whose yorkers and control have redefined modernday fast bowling Boult bowls with the left arm like me and Bumrah swings the ball well His yorkers are deadly I am going to learn a lot from themFor youngsters from modest cricketing outposts Izharrsquos rise carries a clear message patience and persistence outweigh the lure of instant success His journey from tennisball matches in Birpur to an IPL contract with MI stands as validation of that beliefI would say just focus on the process keep going by working hard and wait for the right time You do not get success in a very short span as it demands a lot of time You have to be consistent and believe in God Plus you have to believe in yourself that you can do it When the time comes you will get the reward If you work hard you will get successNow on the cusp of wearing MIrsquos iconic blue and gold in IPL 2026 Izharrsquos emergence adds fresh momentum to his promising cricketing story It underlines once more that with the right backing cricketing talent can emerge from the gamersquos most unheralded cornersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever