IPL 2018 Auctions: Meet the first 21st century player to get an IPL bid

The IPL 2018 auctions is making some big headlines with all the impressive hits and misses. The franchises are leaving no stone unturned to get their permutations right. Among the lot, it is interesting to see the young colts getting big bids. After India U19s cricketers striking gold at the auctions, here comes the first 21st century player to get an IPL bid – Mujeeb Zadran.

Mujeeb Zadran, the young Afghanistani off-spinner has been making big news in the world of cricket over the last couple of years. At the bare age of 16 years and 306 days, young Mujeeb has landed himself a contract with the most prestigious T20 league in the world. He had a base price of INR 50 lakhs. But the youngster ended up fetching an amount 8 times the amount of his base price.

After heavy bidding, Mujeeb Zadran was eventually bought by the Kings XI Punjab for a whopping INR 4 crores. On the lighter side of things, when 16 year old kids are busy with their academic concerns, there is this talented young man who could potentially become the youngest to feature in the popular Indian Premier League this year.

The numbers in his favor

Talking about the numbers, Mujeeb has already played for the Afghanistan national side. Having made his ODI debut against Ireland at Sharjah in December, 2017, Mujeeb has played 3 ODIs thus far and already has a four wicket haul to his name. Currently, he is with the Afghanistan U19 team in New Zealand featuring in the ICC U19 World Cup.

In their most recent knock out encounter against the hosts, New Zealand, Mujeeb had bagged brilliant figures of 4/14. His impressive numbers saw Afghanistan U19 making it to the semi-finals for the first time ever in the history of the tournament. Well, by now, it is evident that the Afghanistan cricketers are here to stay. Last year, it was all about leggie Rashid Khan. And this year, it seems to be the year of an offie from the same nation. The world of cricket awaits him with both arms outstretched.

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