IPL 2024: The IPL 2024 auction saw some huge paydays for International cricketers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. The auction was held outside India for the first time with Dubai hosting the bidding war on December 19. Notably, uncapped players also bagged handsome salaries with Sameer Rizvi being the highest paid one. However, the bidding war was not kind to everyone.
According to the Times of India, a Jharkhand wicket-keeper Sumit Kumar became a victim of the same-name issue at the auction. Delhi Capitals picked a player named Sumit Kumar for 1 Crore. As his name came into the auction, Sumit's picture and name flashed on the TV during the bidding. Multiple franchises went for Sumit but DC acquired him. He and his family were all cheered up after he was picked by DC for 1 Crore. Sumit's mother dialled her son to inform him that he had been picked up by DC. Neighbours and known people congratulated the family with media persons also turning to Sumit's house. However, the happiness was short-lived.
Sumit told TOI that DC uploaded his picture on their Instagram handle and also tagged him. But later they deleted it and posted a different player's picture. Sumit was shocked to see a picture of a Haryana cricketer named - Sumit Kumar, who is an all-rounder.
"My mother was so happy. She was continuously praying for me. But how is this possible? I agree that the names can be the same but what about the photo that was flashed on the television screen? My photo was there, my name was there," Sumit told TOI.
"They put my photo on their Instagram handle as well. They searched for me. They tagged me as well. When I got the notification, I was 100 per cent confident. But when they deleted it after a couple of hours, I was confused and shocked.
"I failed to console my mother. She was so emotional. She was so happy after seeing my name and photo on the television screen and then this shocking incident happened. Delhi Capitals are a big team. I didn't expect them to play with a cricketer's emotions. My family and I felt too bad about it," he added.
As it turned out, his family members had to come out to explain the matter and Sumit said that it was all so embarrassing. "It was an embarrassing moment for me and my family. I got a lot of congratulatory messages. Friends and cricketers sent screenshots of the auction that had my photo. But it all turned into a big embarrassment. I can't tell you how my family and I felt," he added.
