Mumbai Indians made Marco Jansen their own in the 2021 IPL auctions when they bought him for a base price of INR 20 lakh. The Director of Cricket Operations, Zaheer Khan, later said that he was expecting a bit of a bidding war for the speedster but was pleasantly surprised the team could get him in without any troubles.

The young South African is a handy lower-order batsman and a left-arm pacer with a towering height of 6-foot 8. The all-rounder shared his thoughts with ESPN Cricinfo on his early cricketing days, sharing space with Bumrah-Boult in the MI dressing room and more.

The goal is to try and get 140-plus as my average speed

Marco was surprised by the interest shown by Mumbai Indians in him. "I actually can't believe it, if you think of it like that. To be honest, three years ago, my brother and I were talking about playing for the varsity first team and never even thought about IPL. So to be where I am today, I'm very blessed and honored. It's really a privilege.”

“The goal is to try and get 140-plus as my average speed. That must be the main reason why they [Mumbai Indians] looked at me. And that I can also middle it a little bit as well. I'm not going to say anything more on that but yeah, I can hit the ball."

A 9-year-old to concentrate for 20 overs and score 164 got to have special talent

Marco’s father, Koos Jansen, saw glimpses of making it big in cricket in the little boy early on. An excellent performance in an U-9 school match was an eye-opener for Jansen senior.

Marco and his twin brother Duan played the game, both making big scores. “Marco opened the batting. They were small boys, so they played only 20 overs each, and he scored 164 not out. And Duan came in at No. 4 and scored over 80. I realised that for a little boy of nine years old to concentrate for 20 overs and score 164, he's got to have a special talent, both of them. So I explored that.”

One might wonder what this 20-year-old speedster did that made Zaheer expect a bidding fight for him. Given that Mumbai Indians had been tracking Marco for the last two years, their eagerness to lap him up comes with proof of his performance.

Dravid was very humble and it’s something that I looked up to

In 2017, when India A toured South Africa, Marco got the opportunity to bowl Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan who were yet to make their debuts back then. In the same tour, he also happened to catch-up with Rahul Dravid, who was coaching the India A side.

"He [Dravid] was very humble, and it's something that I looked up to. I'm a player who always gets on top of everybody, or of a player who thinks he's very good. It taught me to stay humble and not think I'm the best in the world, or I'm better than the game or something."

In 2018, while on tour to South Africa, Virat Kohli had a hit in the nets of the Wanderers Stadium to Marco and Duan’s balls. Kohli was beaten three times in a row by a 17-year-old Marco, who left with a “well bowled” compliment and a picture.

It's not every day that a 20 years old youngster gets picked in the IPL

For the youngster, Kiwi pacer Trent Boult and India’s Jasprit Bumrah are his idols. Marco is excited to share his dressing room with them. “Firstly, I just want to get to know them as people and from there on, try and tap into their cricket brains as much as possible, especially with Trent, Bumrah, all those guys.”

“Try and ask them as many questions as possible and just enjoy the experience. It's not every day that a youngster who is 20 years old gets picked in the IPL, so I just want to go there with an open mind and enjoy every moment."

The Paltan cannot wait to see what this left-arm quick brings to the team!