I Was Wondering Why It Stopped So Early: Gujarat Titans Pacer Shivam Mavi Recalls His IPL 2023 Auction

Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Shivam Mavi has recalled his IPL 2023 player auction experience and said that he was a bit surprised when his auction stopped at INR 1.10 crore during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction.

The 24-year-old right-arm fast bowler entered the auction at a base price of INR 40 lakh. There was a brief pause after the bidding surpassed INR 1 crore, but it was later resumed. Eventually, the Gujarat Titans acquired Mavi's services for INR 6 crore.

"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 INR 1.10 crore and I was wondering why it stopped so early," Mavi said in a video shared by Gujarat Titans.

The youngster further expressed his eagerness to be picked by defending champions Gujarat Giants and is excited about making a noteworthy impact on the team as they strive to retain their title.

"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," he said. .

Since making his IPL debut in 2018, Mavi was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad before getting released ahead of the 2023 auction. He 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.

The GT pacer also admitted that he is excited to be in the same team as his 2018 U19 World Cup teammate Shubhman Gill.

"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 24-year-old said.

Mavi also expressed his admiration for the Gujarat Titans captain, Hardik Pandya, and shared how he supported him during his international cricket debut.

"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," he said.

Titans will begin their IPL title defence against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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