Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Shivam Mavi has stated that he was a bit surprised when his auction stopped at ₹1.10 crore during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction. He added that he was keen to be picked up by Gujarat and is looking forward to making a significant contribution to the franchise as they look to defend their IPL crown.
Mavi, 24, entered the IPL 2023 auction at a base price of ₹40 lakh. While there was a slight lull in bidding after his price crossed ₹1 crore, the battle soon resumed. Eventually, the right-arm fast bowler was purchased by the Gujarat Titans for ₹6 crore.
The UP pacer previously represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL. In a video shared on Gujarat Titans’ official website, Mavi opened up on being picked up by the defending champions at the IPL 2023 auction. He commented:
“Like last year we won here. Now that I have joined them, I am thinking I want to help us be champions again. During the auctions, I was in Nagaland playing a Ranji Trophy match for Uttar Pradesh. You must have seen earlier that my auction stopped at ₹1.10 crore and I was wondering why it stopped so early.
“I wanted to be picked by the Gujarat Titans because I was excited to play with them. I had heard that the management and the captain here are very good. I have met all of them earlier. That nature and the atmosphere of the team is really good, that’s why I wanted to be picked by GT.”
Mavi has so far featured in 32 IPL matches and has claimed 30 wickets at an average of 31.40 and a strike rate of 21.63.
“I am very excited to play with Shubman” – Shivam Mavi
Mavi will get a chance to play alongside his 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning teammate Shubman Gill at GT.
Admitting that he is excited to be in the same team as his good friend, the fast bowler said:
“I am very excited to play with Shubman. Obviously it feels very good, since our Under-19 days we have played together. We played our U-19 series together, then the World Cup together, then we were at Kolkata Knight Riders together, then we played for India and now for Gujarat Titans.”
The UP cricketer also praised GT skipper Hardik Pandya and revealed how the latter helped him during his international debut. Mavi stated:
“I played with Hardik Bhaiya for India and he supported me a lot during my debut. He didn’t let me feel any pressure. Obviously when you play your first match there’s a lot of pressure on you but he told me to bowl without worrying. He advised me to bowl just like I did during IPL and Ranji. For a youngster, it feels great to have such support.”
Gujarat Titans will begin their IPL 2023 campaign against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Gujarat Titans Final Squad:
Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Kane Williamson, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma