After their stellar performances in India’s U-19 World Cup triumph, the country is waiting to see how India’s U-19 champions will perform at this year’s Indian Premier League.
Earlier in January, four players from the World Cup winning squad went under the hammer at the IPL auctions. Skipper Prithvi Shaw, opener Shubhman Gill and fast bowlers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi were sold for crores at the auction.
Delhi Daredevils scooped skipper Prithvi Shaw while the Kolkata Knight Riders got their hands on the rest of the three – Shubhman Gill, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
Shaw was lifted by the Delhi Daredevils for Rs 1.2 crore. With five centuries in seven first-class games, including one on his Ranji debut and another in his maiden Duleep Trophy game, 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw has managed to make a big mark in Indian cricket even before his international debut. The right-hand opening batsman was Mumbai’s second-highest scorer in the 2017-18 Ranji season with 537 runs in six matches at an average of 48.81.
Born in Maharashtra’s Thane, Shaw first came to prominence with his 330-ball 546 for his school Rizvi Springfield in the 2013 Harris Shield tournament. He was 14 years old then.
Currently leading India’s Under-19 team at the World Cup in New Zealand, he has scored 94 and an unbeaten 57 in the two matches that the team has played so far. The amount might look small to some given the kind of money being spent on players, but the fact that Shaw has not played a single T20 match in his career, the amount is completely justified for the Indian U-19 captain.
The Indian U-19 opener, Shubhman Gill, who played first-class cricket for Punjab, was lapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 1.8 crore. Gill also has no experience in the Twenty-20 format. Gill was the highest run-scorer during the ODI series against England in early 2017.
Kamlesh Nagarkoti, the fast bowler who has impressed many with his left-arm pace in New Zealand, was also swept by the Kolkata Knight Riders, and was one of the most profitable player at this year’s auction. Everyone seemed keen to get the youngster in their team, but the Kolkata team emerged victorious in the bidding war, taking Nagarkoti’s price to a massive Rs 3.2 crore from his base price of Rs 20 lakh. The inflation in the youngster’s signing amount gives us the idea that everyone is aware of Nagarkoti’s bowling prowess.
Out of the four U-19 players sold in the auction yet, three have been taken by Kolkata Knight Riders, the latest signing being fast-bowler Shivam Mavi, who they paid Rs 3 crore for. Pacer Shivam Mavi has been in great form for the Indian U-19 team, having already taken five wickets in the three group matches in the ICC U-19 World Cup.
After his big-money purchase by KKR, Mavi is being hailed as the next big thing from Uttar Pradesh, to follow the footsteps of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who also has been a key part of the Indian team for the past few years.
Catch live updates from Day 2 of IPL Auction 2018 here.
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