In the IPL 2023 auction which was held in Kochi on Friday, the fortunes of many players shined. With a total amount of Rs 167 Crore spent by all 10 franchises, this year's auction broke all IPL records. While young players dominated the mini-auction, Mukesh Kumar who was the third expensive buy for India came into the limelight.
- The bid of crores for Mukesh Kumar:
Mukesh Kumar's base price was Rs 20 Lakhs at the auction. But he was bagged by the Delhi Capitals for a whopping amount of Rs 5.50 crores. During the auction, almost all the teams wanted to include Mukesh in their squad, but in the end, Delhi won the bid. He became the third most expensive Indian player after Mayank Agarwal (Rs 8.25 Cr) and Shivam Mavi (Rs 6 Cr). The journey to IPL 2023 was not easy for Mukesh who was unsold last season.
- Mukesh's inspiring journey:
By taking a look at Mukesh's struggles, it seems that his hard work paid off. Born in Gopalganj, Bihar in the year 1993, he made his way to the Bengal cricket team through the Vision 2020 tryouts in 2014 at the Eden Gardens. But before moving to Kolkata, Mukesh applied for the army and couldn't get enlisted. His father, Kashinath who used to work as a taxi driver called him to West Bengal from Bihar in the year 2012, to find him work.
His father used to work as a taxi driver. He started playing cricket after joining a second-level CAB league club called Bani Niketan. He then grabbed the opportunity to participate in the Vision 2020 tryouts and eventually got selected for the Bengal Ranji team.
- A look at Mukesh Kumar's statistics:
Taking a look at Mukesh Kumar's first-class career, he has taken a total of 123 wickets in 33 matches. At the same time, he has 26 wickets in 24 List A matches. Mukesh has also had a good career in T20 cricket, taking a total of 25 wickets in 23 matches.
Mukesh Kumar will be seen playing under the captaincy of Rishabh Pant in the next season of the tournament.
