For 26-year-old Rahul Tripathi, who was bought by now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant for Rs. 10 lakh last year, Saturday's IPL auction brought the promise of a bigger and better season.
Rajasthan Royals (RR), which entered the bidding war for Tripathi, was in no mood to relent and kept raising the paddle until it had acquired the Maharashtra batsman's services for a mind-boggling Rs 3.4 crores - 17 times his base price.
"I feel really happy to be a part of the Royals team and look forward to having a good season with them," Tripathi told Sportstar . "My parents are ecstatic - they're happy that I got another chance to play and improve my game," he added.
Read - IPL auction (Day One) - As it happened
But did he watch the action unfold on TV or find out about it from some other place?
"I was a bit under the weather, so came home early and managed to watch the auctions live," he said adding "I got a call from the Royals' team manager (Arun Dev) who then informed me of the proceedings."
'Money didn't really matter'
And was he transfixed when the hammer went down, even as phone calls and messages started flooding in? "Last year, it was Rs 10 Lakh, this year base price was 20 (laughs). I was actually more excited to find out which team will pick me and where I'll be gaining experience from. The money didn't really matter," he said.
Tripathi's big-hitting heroics may or may not have made him a household name in 2017, but a hefty price tag sure has thrust him into the cricketing limelight once again.
Over to you, Rahul.
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