The art

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: 'Someone should pick me now', muttered Kumar Kushagra, sitting in his room at 5:30 pm. It's December 19, 2023, and the IPL Auction ahead of the 2024 season is happening at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Amongst the auction list of 333 players, Kushagra's name features too – he's an exciting wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand earmarked by many to get a good deal.

The auction starts from 1 pm India time and Kushagra, attending a Ranji Trophy camp in Ranchi, is watching the proceedings right from the word go. Sitting alone in his room, he couldn't tell anyone to get food or water for him.

When an advertisement interrupts live streaming, Kushagra, 19, gets agitated and wonders, 'my name should have come by now and I am not able to see it yet'. Nevertheless, the live stream returns shortly, and on spotting his name, Kushagra is eager to see which team picks him for IPL 2024.