INDIAN pacer Umesh Yadav was satisfied with Gujarat Titans for picking him for a huge amount during the IPL mini auction in Dubai on Tuesday. Yadav, whose base price was Rs 2 crore was sold to Gujarat Titans for Rs 5.80 crore, surprising the pacer. “IPL auctions are unpredictable. To be very frank I was not expecting that I would fetch this much money. I was confident of being picked by one of the 10 franchises but never thought of getting over Rs 5 crore. I was thinking around the Rs 4 crore bracket. I like to thank Gujarat Titans for showing trust in me,” Yadav told ‘The Hitavada’ immediately after his auction took place.

 

On a day when Australians Mitchell Starc and World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins broke the Rs 20 crore sealing, Umesh emerged as one of the experienced bowlers to earn big. Starc went to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 cr while Cummins was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.50 crore. Yadav said with experience under his belt he will look forward to playing with GT bowlers and would love to transfer his knowledge being a senior pro. “I would love to share my knowledge with the young Gujarat Titans pacers. I would be more like a mentor to them because I have a lot of experience of playing in IPL,” said the 36 year-old Vidarbha pacer who has played 141 IPL matches for DD, RCB and KKR till now.

 

“I will give my best to help GT win matches and also the title once again,” said the India speedster. Yadav, who has played for three franchises, said that he would pass whatever knowledge he gained from those teams earlier. “Yes, definitely, I have played with three franchisees earlier and I would pass all what I know about those teams and their strategies to GT team management,” Yadav signed off.