Kochi, India
Jammu and Kashmir's Vivrant Sharma made quite a buzz at the bidding table during the ongoing 2023 mini-auction in Kochi. After a few biggies including Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ben Stokes made headlines going for super-high amounts, local talents like Vivrant Sharma managed to carve some space of themselves too. Slated to go under the hammer at a base price of 20 lakhs, Vivrant's bid went up to 2.6 crores - a deal that was sealed by SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).
But who is this Vivrant Sharma? And how he managed to bag such a price despite being an unknown entity among the most of Indian fans.
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Vivrant Sharma is a 23-year-old budding all-rounder from J&K who bats left-handed and bowls leg spin. He was first introduced to the SRH camp by his now teammate Abdul Samad during this year's IPL as a net bowler. By then, Vivrant had just made his List-A debut and had played a few T20 games for his state as well.
Upon grabbing attention as a net bowler, Vivrant showed what he is capable of with the bat in hand in the following Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he scored 395 runs in 8 matches including a magnificent hundred and two fifties.
So, whoâs Vivrant Sharma? The left-handed opener who bowls handy leg spin from J&K has been bought by @SunRisers at 2.60 CR in the #IPLAuction!
Before I start talking about him, letâs join me in thanking Abdul Samad, whoâs Vivrantâs close friend! Hereâs why â¤µï¸ 1/n
â Mohsin Kamal (@64MohsinKamal) December 23, 2022
While his numbers in the domestic circuit aren't bad either. In the 14 List A matches played, Vivrant has scored 519 runs, whereas, in the 9 T20s he has 190 runs to his name at a strike rate close to 130. Even as a bowler he looked promising picking up six wickets in T20s and eight in List A.
I must admit Iâm so much delighted to see Vivrant Sharma escalating a kind of bidding war! While I knew both KKR and SRH are interested in him, hadnât expected to go at 2.6 CR! A thread on him coming shortly! Hereâs a video of his batting â¤µï¸ #IPLAuction
â Mohsin Kamal (@64MohsinKamal) December 23, 2022
Alongside Vivrant, SRH has also picked Harry Brooks from England for a whopping 13.5 crores and former Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal for 8.25 crores. Adil Rashid has also been picked by the former IPL winners while all-rounder Mayank Dagar was also purchased by them for 1.8 crores.