Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar were two of the surprising but exciting names named in the India T20I squad for the 3-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. India will be locking horns with the island nation in the first week of January and the first T20I will be played on 3rd January 2023.
Shivam Mavi has been a regular in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2018 and was backed a lot by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise. He was bagged for a whopping Rs. 6 crore amount by the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the recently-concluded IPL 2023 mini-auction. He was the highest uncapped player sold in the auction.
Speaking to the news agency PTI, Shivam Mavi lavished praise on Hardik Pandya and said that he “supports every player”.
“Hardik Pandya supports every player. He is a great leader. It is very difficult to be the IPL champion in the first outing but he managed to do it. He led Gujarat Titans from the front and became champions. He is a calm leader but took some bold decisions,” said the 24-year-old youngster.
“As a captain, Hardik bhai is very shrewd and a master tactician. He knows exactly whom to bowl when and whom to promote in the batting order. I know it is not going to be easy for me but I am just hoping to get a game, perform there and be a regular for India,” added Shivam Mavi.
Under his coach Phoolchand Sharma, Shivam Mavi transformed from a top-order batter to a pace bowler.
“I started as a batter but I also used to bowl at nets later I noticed I didn’t have the batting skills to become a proper batter. I started to realize after some time that bowling suits me more than batting. Becoming a bowling all-rounder would be a better option for me,” said the former KKR bowler.
Shivam Mavi has so far played 32 matches in the IPL and has bagged 30 wickets with a decent economy of 8.70.
Also read: IPL 2023: 3 Opening Combinations Mumbai Indians Can Try
