Published: Feb 07, 2016, 02:18 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 07, 2016, 02:18 PM (IST)
Former Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Deepak Hooda was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a massive price of INR 4.2 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 player auction on Saturday. Hooda, a hard-hitting batsman and off-spinner, plays domestic cricket for Baroda, and had a productive time in the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Having played for RR and done well in the last edition, all eyes were on him when his name came up for bidding at the auction. Hooda revealed that while he expected to be selected, he had no idea that he would fetch such an astronomical sum. READ: IPL 2016 Auction: Deepak Hooda sold for Rs. 4.2 crores to Sunrisers Hyderabad
As reported by Cricinfo, Hooda said of the auction, “I didn’t follow it closely. When one of my relatives told me I went blank for a while. I instantly hugged all my friends who were with me. I knew it would be a good auction for me. I was confident of being picked up, but didn’t expect this price. My mom told me I had to focus more and work even harder. I felt that, people trust me so much, I need to live up to it.” COMPLETE COVERAGE IPL 2016 AUCTION: LIVE BLOG & UPDATES OF IPL 9 AUCTION
Hooda revealed that there was some pressure after RR was dissolved, and he knew he had to keep performing in order to get selected again. “Ekdum pressure tha [there was heaps of pressure] because I knew what had happened to Rajasthan Royals, and I needed to keep performing to attract a new team. Given my IPL experience, there is also naturally more expected of me when I play for Baroda. But automatically sab accha hua [everything was okay].” Updates & Blog, IPL 2016 Auction: List of sold & unsold players & teams in Indian Premier League 9 auction
Hooda credited his performance in the Ranji Trophy and domestic one-day tournament for his selection. “I think the Ranji Trophy last season was very important to me. Also, winning the best all-rounder award in domestic one-dayers last season. Munaf bhai treats me like his younger brother and he taught me what life is about really, its ups and downs. Rahul bhai, Monty bhai and others in the IPL were hugely helpful because I would keep asking them a lot of questions on getting better.”
