Special Correspondent
Vidarbha cricketers will sit anxiously in front of television sets when the two-day mega IPL Auction gets under way in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Sunday afternoon. Eleven cricketers from Vidarbha including India pacer Umesh Yadav, T20 specialist wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma, opening batter Atharv Taide, Karun Nair, Shubham Dubey, to name a few, have registered themselves for the auction.
India seamer Umesh, who last year represented Gujarat Titans, has opted to go under the hammer at the base price of Rs 2 crore. The 37-year-old Yadav has played nine T20 Internationals and 148 IPL matches representing Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals,
Kolkata Knight Riders apart from the Titans.
Last year, he was picked by GT for Rs 5.80 crore.
Another Indian player, stumper Jitesh Sharma will be auctioned from the base price of Rs 1 crore. Last year, Jitesh, who was the Vice-Captain of Punjab Kings, played 14 matches. He has also represented Mumbai Indians in the past.
Big-hitters Shubham Dubey and Apoorv Wankhade along with Karun Nair, Atharva Taide, Yash Thakur, Darshan Nalkande, Saurabh Dubey, Harsh Dubey, Praful Hinge, Shubham Kapse and Dipesh Parwani will go into the auction with a base price of Rs 30 lakh.
Shubham was picked by Rajasthan Royals last season after a bidding war for Rs 5.80 crore.
Left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey is among the wickets this Ranji season with 37 wickets will also hope to attract the franchises.
Vidarbha opener
Taide was picked by Punjab Kings last year but the left-handed batter managed to get only two matches to show his skills.
Pacer Yash Thakur, who was a revelation for Lucknow last season picking some crucial wickets, will also be in the scheme of things by the team owners. Last season, he played 10 matches for LSG and the franchise might again show interest in him who has recovered from a shin injury at NCA in Bengaluru and is part of Vidarbha team at SMAT in Vizag.
Another pacer Nalkande, who played two matches for GT last season, has also registered for the auction so does Kapse, Hinge and Saurabh Dubey.
Hinge bowled well in Vidarbha’s Ranji match against Gujarat and has also contributed with the bat hitting a few sixes.