Cricket was his first love, but he ended up becoming a footballer. Had there been IPL in those days, Jewel Raja, 27, the central midfielder for the national team and FC Pune City, would have definitely been a cricketer.

“When I was young, I used to play cricket a lot. I used to bowl fast, toe-crushing yorkers. When I was at the crease to bowl, it was certain that I conclude the spell with two-three wickets in a 20-over match,” said Jewel in an exclusive interview to thestatesman.com.

ISL 2017-18 to kick off in Kolkata; Here is the full 95-game schedule

“However, I was good in football as well and improved a lot in the game watching my elder brother play. My dad gave me all the freedom to choose what I want to do and pursue. Albeit, it was a tough decision for me. There wasn’t IPL those days, otherwise, I would have chosen cricket over football,” Jewel continued.

The midfielder from West Bengal has put in a lot of effort into becoming what he is today. Born in West Bengal’s Budge Budge town, Jewel had a keen interest in cricket, but circumstances made him chose to play football professionally.

Initially, he played as a right winger for his youth teams before his father encouraged him to become a central midfielder. Jewel joined the Pujali Athletic Club as a youngster and later joined the eastern-center of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Kolkata.

“I had to put in a lot of hard work. I played for Bengal Under-19 football team, and then India U-19 when I was 16.”

In 2007, Jewel joined ONGC in the I-League but didn’t make any appearance for the Mumbai-based club as he was preoccupied with the U-19 matches. He then moved to I-League clubs Dempo and Churchill Brothers in 2008.

A bigger break came for Jewel in 2011, when he was signed by Mohun Bagan. He spent two years in the Kolkata-based club before re-joining Dempo in 2013.

In the opening edition of the Indian Super League (ISL), Jewel represented FC Goa in the 2014 season and made nine appearances. In 2015, the midfielder was signed by Atlético de Kolkata, the two-time champions (2014, 2016).

Recalling his ISL journey and experiences, Jewel said those were amazing years of his life and he saw a lot of improvement in himself, fellow players and the league at large.

“A lot has improved in past three years. We, Indians, have developed a great confidence within ourselves to play alongside foreign footballers. And I hope, just like IPL that completed its 10 editions this year, ISL will further prosper with the passage of time.”

The ISL is set to introduce a new league-pattern, where it will be bigger and better as the league will run for a duration of five months. Jewel seemed content with the new idea, saying it will provide players a “flexibility”.

“It’s good that they introduced these changes. The longer league will give players a flexibility to prepare and play a game better. The arrangements are also done as per international standards and I firmly believe it will be a success.”

The ISL season 2017-18 will kickstart on November 17 with defending Champions Atlético de Kolkata (ATK) taking on Kerala Blasters FC in the opening match.

FC Pune City will start their campaign on November 22, hosting Delhi Dynamos on their home ground Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium.

“We are working on our fitness. Training is on full swing. Here in Pune, the stadium and facilities are world class. I am determined to take my new club to the final this year,” the humble midfielder signed off.