'How is this possible?' - Cricketer Sumit Kumar on losing INR 1 crore IPL contract due to picture goof-up

The IPL 2024 auction was successfully conducted on December 19 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. The bidding event helped many young cricketers realize their dreams of playing in the biggest T20 league of the world as they got sold for huge amounts. One such player was Jharkhand’s wicket-keeper batter Sumit Kumar who started at a base price of INR 20 lakh and was eventually sold for INR 1 Crore to Delhi Capitals.

Seeing her son realise his dream of playing with some of the biggest names in international cricket, Sumit’s mother was teary-eyed as she gave him the good news on a call. However, the family’s joy was short-lived as Sumit found out that Delhi Capitals had posted a photograph of some other cricketer with the same name from Haryana to congratulate him.

Also Check: DC Team 2024 Player List: Complete Delhi Capitals (DC) Squad and Players List for IPL 2024

Hence, the wicketkeeper batter had to reveal the same to his mother who was inconsolable after finding out about the goof-up.

"My mother was so happy. She was continuously praying for me. But how is this possible? I agree that the names can be the same but what about the photo that was flashed on the television screen? My photo was there, my name was there," Sumit revealed his ordeal to Times of India.

Sumit further revealed that the auction broadcaster even showed his photograph while bidding.

"I failed to console my mother. She was so emotional. She was so happy after seeing my name and photo on the television screen and then this shocking incident happened. Delhi Capitals are a big team. I didn't expect them to play with a cricketer's emotions. My family and I felt too bad about it," he added.

He further stated that DC’s Instagram handle had also put a post to congratulate him but deleted it a couple of hours later.

"They put my photo on their Instagram handle as well. They searched for me. They tagged me as well. When I got the notification, I was 100 percent confident. But when they deleted it after a couple of hours, I was confused and shocked," he said.

Also Read: Punjab Kings mistakenly buy Shashank Singh at IPL 2024 Auction

Hailing from Bokaro, Sumit began playing cricket at the age of 10 and was introduced to the game by his father who worked as a mechanic. The 28-year-old was even included in the Jharkhand senior team in 2014-15. However, he recently left Jharkhand for Nagaland due to a lack of opportunities in his state. The right-handed batter has played 20 First Class, 26 List-A and 21 T20 matches in his career.

I have learned a lot from Mahi bhai: Sumit

Sumit considers MS Dhoni as his idol and even picked up wicketkeeping because of him. 

"I have learned a lot from Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). Sharing the dressing room with him, talking to him, and learning from him has been a huge thing. I took up wicket-keeping because of him. He has always treated me like a younger brother. This is not the end of the road for me. I am disappointed but will keep on working hard towards my goal," he added.