IPL auction 2024: Who's Robin Minz? - Everything You Need to Know About first ever tribal player to feature in IPL

The IPL Auction 2024 saw several young Indian players being sold to franchises who got the much-needed recognition for their talent. Among them was Jharkhand wicketkeeper batter Robin Minz who was bought for a whopping INR 3.6 Crore by Gujarat Titans. Minz started at a base price of INR 20 Lakh with Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat showing interest in buying him.

With the historic signing by GT, Minz has become the first-ever tribal cricketer to be bought by an IPL franchise. The 21-year-old hails from Gumla district in Jharkhand and was even selected by Mumbai Indians for an international training camp in the United Kingdom in August 2023.

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Minz is known for his hard-hitting ability boasting a strike rate of 140 in club cricket. Notably, former India cricketer Robin Uthappa described him as a left-handed Kieron Pollard during the mock auction.

Minz, who’s yet to make his professional cricket debut, scored an unbeaten 73* off 35 balls during an invitational T20 tournament in Odisha earlier this year.

According to News18, he has featured for Jharkhand U19 and Jharkhand U25 teams. The wicketkeeper batter was also invited for trials by Lucknow Supergiants, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders but only attended the trials for DC where he wasn’t selected and hence went unsold in the IPL 2023 auction.

Robin Minz gave up on his studies after 10th

Like most wicketkeeper batters in India, Minz idolises Mahendra Singh Dhoni and can also bowl left-arm orthodox spin. He gave up on his studies after passing the 10^th standard exams. Minz’s father has served in the army and now works in security at the Jharkhand airport.

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Meanwhile, after being picked up by Gujarat, Minz has a great chance of making his IPL debut in the upcoming season as GT has only three wicketkeepers and only two Indian wicketkeepers. Wriddhiman Saha is the other Indian wicketkeeper apart from Minz in the Gujarat Squad. Hence, the franchise will look to test Minz in the upcoming season with 39-year-old Saha not getting any younger.