By Paritosh Pramanik
THE IPL auction often rewards the uncapped Indian cricketers with life changing contracts and it was no different for Vidarbha’s Shubham Dubey, on Tuesday.
The hard hitting batter was fetched for Rs 5.80 crore by Rajasthan Royals after an intense long and exhilarating bidding battle against Delhi Capitals. In the end it was Rajasthan Royals who had the last laugh taking away the Nagpur cricketer under their wings.
Dubey’s is a Rags to Riches story. The hard-hitting batter from Vidarbha, grew up in a poor family in Vaishali Nagar, north Nagpur and barely managed to purchase a cricket kit.
Those were the days when Shubham used to play with borrowed kits. Dubey then came to know about late Advocate Sudeep Jaiswal, who used to run Advocate XI Cricket Club. The benevolent Adv Jaiswal took care of Shubham — from his cricketing gears to -- at times-- caring about his diet.
And Shubham did not forget to thank his first mentor and father-figure Adv Jaiswal.
“Whatever I am today, it is because of Adv Sudeep Jaiswal. He was a God-sent angel. From purchasing kits, costly bats to taking care of my diet. Jaiswal sir did not let me go empty handed,” Dubey who plays for Eleven Star Cricket Club in Vidarbha Cricket Association’s leagues, told ‘The Hitavada’.
“My family’s financial condition was very weak when I started playing cricket and Sudeep sir helped me a lot. Had it not been for Sudeep sir, I wouldn’t have reached this far,” admitted Dubey. “Sudeep sir gave me the opportunity to play for his team and also asked me to lead the side in local competitions. That gave me a lot of confidence,” added Dubey, whose mother Jayshree is a housewife and father Badriprasad does petty work.
Dubey also recalled days when he used to play tennis ball cricket to earn money so that he could help his family.
“Once Aniruddha Chore (former Vidarbha stumper) introduced me to the Times Shield (in Mumbai) tournament where I used to earn Rs 10,000 per month. That helped me earn a livelihood. I played in Mumbai for six months and then came back and played tennis ball cricket in and around Vidarbha. That helped me win man of the match awards in cash. In a way that was my earning,” narrated Dubey.
“Rohit bhai (Rohit Kaisalwar) helped me a lot. He motivated me a lot and used to inform me about tennis ball tournaments in Vidarbha and central India. Even at the Royal Cricket Association Club, I got a free hand while training in nets. I also thank Irfan sir (Irfan Rajjak) for his timely help,” the left-handed batter said.
Dubey’s life changed when he got selected to play for Vidarbha teams. “Financial stability has come since I started playing for Vidarbha. The match fee and other financial assistance from Vidarbha helped me a lot. This IPL opportunity is because of VCA officials. I will not let anybody down and will give my best and will perform to the best of my abilities,” concluded Dubey.
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Thanks to Gujarat Titans for showing trust in me: Umesh
n By Paritosh Pramanik
INDIAN pacer Umesh Yadav was satisfied with Gujarat Titans for picking him for a huge amount during the IPL mini auction in Dubai on Tuesday. Yadav, whose base price was Rs 2 crore was sold to Gujarat Titans for Rs 5.80 crore, surprising the pacer.
“IPL auctions are unpredictable. To be very frank I was not expecting that I would fetch this much money. I was confident of being picked by one of the 10 franchises but never thought of getting over Rs 5 crore. I was thinking around the Rs 4 crore bracket. I like to thank Gujarat Titans for showing trust in me,” Yadav told ‘The Hitavada’ immediately after his auction took place.
On a day when Australians Mitchell Starc and World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins broke the Rs 20 crore sealing, Umesh emerged as one of the experienced bowlers to earn big.
Starc went to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 cr while Cummins was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.50 crore.
Yadav said with experience under his belt he will look forward to playing with GT bowlers and would love to transfer his knowledge being a senior pro. “I would love to share my knowledge with the young Gujarat Titans pacers. I would be more like a mentor to them because I have a lot of experience of playing in IPL,” said the 36 year-old Vidarbha pacer who has played 141 IPL matches for DD, RCB and KKR till now.
“I will give my best to help GT win matches and also the title once again,” said the India speedster.
Yadav, who has played for three franchises, said that he would pass whatever knowledge he gained from those teams earlier. “Yes, definitely, I have played with three franchisees earlier and I would pass all what I know about those teams and their strategies to GT team management,” Yadav signed off.
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