By Henry Clark

A cricketer from Gravesend looks set to fulfil his dream and play in a cricket World Cup.

The only difference is that Virender Bhoombla, 54, will be hoping to compete in the Over-50s Cricket World Cup, which was curtailed earlier this year and rescheduled for 2022.

Born in Punjab, India, Bhoombla represented the All India Centre Schools Under-19 team but a chance encounter suddenly changed the course of his life.

He said: “I met my future wife, Sudesh, who was on holiday and we decided that we wanted to be together and married in 1994.

"She was from Gravesend and had a job at the council and she said ‘Why don’t we try living in England first?’"

After making the switch later that year, it took Bhoombla just two weeks to head to his local cricket club, Gravesend. In just his fifth game for the club he found himself playing for the 1st XI in the Kent Premier League.

His new team-mates made him feel at home immediately, so much so that he has been the club’s treasurer for the last 20 years as a way of showing thanks to the club.

“I was very well received by the Gravesend boys," he said. "I was the only Asian in the 1st XI and coming from India I spoke English but had problems understanding slang.

"But the guys were so amazing, and I never felt that I wasn’t part of the team.”

After a series of impressive performances for the Kent Over-50s team, Bhoombla received a message on holiday in 2019 from India asking him to come for a trial in Mumbai.

After impressing at the trial, Bhoombla was selected in the squad for the World Cup that was set to take place in March. The tournament was postponed after just two games due to the coronavirus pandemic and has been pushed back to 2022 owing to ongoing travel restrictions.

But for Bhoombla, who works for the NHS, it has only served to give him more time to prepare for one of his proudest cricketing achievements.

He said: “It’s a brilliant feeling and I feel very lucky at this age to represent my country and finally compete at international level. For the players, wearing the Indian colours is a great feeling.”

Gravesend Cricket Club’s joint-chairman Tim Hance said: “A fluent and stylish right-handed batsman, Verinder has been an integral part of our success over the past two decades.

“We are delighted and proud that he has been selected for India Over-50s, not only because it is well deserved from a playing perspective but because he is a thoroughly top man.”

Read more: All the latest sports news in Kent