I qualified as a Physical Education teacher in 2000, as the first ever South Asian P.E teacher in England, this story was acknowledged by BBC news. I grew up in the city of Leeds and played county cricket and badminton until the age of 19, after that I found myself having to look after my father’s restaurant throughout my further education as he had a triple bypass and was no longer been able to work. I found myself refusing Loughborough and accepting Leeds as I needed to be working every evening throughout my Sports Science degree. I first started working at Carlton Bolling in 2001 and immediately accepted the cultural differences of those in Bradford to those In Leeds. I stay back most days until 6pm, a couple of hours after my colleagues have left for the sole reason of giving the children an opportunity in life to develop dexterity and social skills.
In 2014, I started the first ever South Asian girls cricket team where I constantly had to fight social, cultural and religious barriers which till this very day I still have to face. In 2015 I won the BBC teacher of the year award, the same year my girls cricketers won their first ever county final especially after everyone, including several members of our own school had written them off. In 2017 I won the secondary teacher of the year award at the T&A teacher awards, later that year I won the National Pearson teacher award. My teaching career as whole has been up and down, maybe due to the mere fact of my loyalty and the chances I give to the students to better themselves. My career as a teacher has suffered many set backs and difficulties but I have never once drifted from helping the children chase and follow their dreams and ambitions.
In May 2018 I have been invited to a Royal Garden Party which is hosted by Her Majesty the Queen for my services to Education. I appeared on Sky Sports international news, and was invited to Lords cricket ground to meet some of the England cricketers I have also, appeared on countless news broadcast ranging from BBC to ITV.
In April, BBC have commissioned a documentary about myself and the girls cricket team following our journey of changing and breaking typical stereotypes for many Asian girls, ‘Back Streets Of Bradford To The Success Of Bollywood’.