India U-19 World Cup-winning member Rajvardhan Hangargekar was roped in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping amount of Rs 1.5 crore, at the recently-concluded mega auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 edition.
The IPL mega auction was held on February 12 and February 13, in Bengaluru.
The Maharashtra-born all-rounder had a base price of Rs 30 lakh at the mega auction. Initially Mumbai Indians showed their interest in the all-rounder but later CSK along with Lucknow Super Giants got involved in the bidding war. And eventually, CSK roped in the talented 19-year-old all-rounder.
While recalling his journey, Hangargekar shared the difficulties he had to face in his life and he also revealed why “it was tough” for him “to go out there and practice again with the same intensity.”
Hangargekar speaks
"Tough phase for me [but I told myself], 'Okay, I have to accept what has happened but I can't just keep sitting and put myself in a bad frame of mind'. So I knew what I had to do. It was tough for me to go out there and practice again with the same intensity and all that. I had already decided my goals. I knew what I wanted to do," Hangargekar was quoted while talking to Cricbuzz.
Life has not been easy for Hangargekar as he lost his father two years back due to the Covid-19 virus.
And while talking about his father, the teenage revealed that his father “loved the way Dhoni handled the game.”
"He was really good guy, he always wanted me to be an international player, I wish he was watching me playing for CSK, because he really loved the way Dhoni handled the game, he really loved how calm Dhoni is in tough situations, he was also a calm person in a lot of tough situations. I'm really keen to work with CSK and MS Dhoni," Hangargekar further added.
World Cup-winning players at mega auction
Apart from Hangargekar, other members of the India U-19 World Cup-winning team like- Yash Dhull and Raj Bawa were also picked up by franchises at the mega auction.
Ahead of the mega auction for the IPL 2022, the four-time IPL champions CSK had decided to retain four players and those were- MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali.
India U-19 World Cup-winning skipper Yash Dhull was landed by Delhi Capitals (DC) franchise for an amount of Rs 50 lakh and Bawa on the other hand, was signed by Punjab Kings for Rs 2 crore.
