IPL 2019: Every time Yusuf Pathan scores a 50, Javed gives you a free auto ride!

Over the last three years, auto driver Javed Shah has been offering free or ‘discount-rate’ rides to passengers every time Yusuf Pathan scores a big knock in the Indian Premier League (IPL). This year, you get a free ride every time Yusuf scores a 50!

Javed Shah poses with his auto, which has a banner at the back that says passengers get a free ride each time Yusuf Pathan scores more than 50 runs in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

If you happen to be in Valsad -- a quaint town in Gujarat -- during the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, you are bound to bump into Javed Shah.

The 33-year-old, who lives in the Green Park area, is an auto-rickshaw driver by profession, but the city knows him as a ‘die-hard fan’ of Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan.

Things get busy for him during the IPL season because over the last three years, Javed has been offering free or ‘discount-rate’ rides to passengers every time Yusuf scores a big knock.

Until last year, he would offer discounts ranging from 25 percent to 75 percent, but this time, there has been a slight change in plan.

“This year, every time Yusuf Bhai scores 50 or more runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad, passengers will get a free ride within the Valsad city. I will not charge a penny,” Javed tells Sportstar .

Javed Shah first met Yusuf Pathan some three years ago when the latter travelled to Valsad with the Baroda team for a Ranji Trophy fixture.

 

“Until last year, I gave 25 percent discounts on the total fare, every time he scored 25-30 runs. The percentage would go up depending on the runs he scored. But he did not score too many runs, so I could not offer a 100 percent discount to anybody,” he continues.

But this time, he is confident of his Bhai's success. “I am confident that Yusuf Bhai will perform for Sunrisers’ this time,” he says.

Javed has given his vehicle a fresh coat of point and has decorated it with posters of Yusuf. “Many fans celebrate by visiting the ground. I show my love for bhai by serving people,” he remarks.

Being the sole bread-winner of the family, life is tough for Javed, but he is happy to do his ‘bit’. “I live in a small house with my wife, two children, and my mother. It is tough to make ends meet but then, this is the least I can do to help people,” he says.

Javed's auto has a huge sticker of the Sunrisers Hyderabad logo on the windshield, accompanied by "Y.Pathan" written in bold letters.

 

His fascination towards Yusuf blossomed some three years ago when the latter travelled to Valsad with the Baroda team for a Ranji Trophy fixture. “I met Yusuf Bhai and he later called me for a meal. It was such an honour to spend time with him. I still cherish those moments,” Javed says.

He has remained in touch with Yusuf since. In the three IPL editions that followed, Yusuf has played twice for SRH and was part of Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017. “I had put up a KKR poster back then. But now, I have shifted to SRH. Wherever he plays, I will support that team,” he says.

With no games scheduled in Gujarat, Javed will not be able to watch any IPL games from the stands, but he will watch every single game of SRH. “I want them to win and Bhai should score. That’s all matters.”