West Indies stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran was picked for an unexpected big sum of Rs 10.75 by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. As a result, an overjoyed Pooran who is currently inside the bio-bubble ahead of three-T20I series against India in Kolkata, gave a pizza party worth Rs 15,000 to his teammates.
Pooran ordered pizzas worth Rs 15,000 for the whole team because outside food was not allowed in the hotel as per Covid-19 guidelines.
"Since outside food is not allowed he placed the order at the hotel chef for 15 pizzas," the local manager told PTI.
The out-of-form Caribbean batter's name started a high-voltage bidding war between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Hyderabad-based franchise. At the end of the auction, he turned out to be second-most expensive overseas player in the auction after England’s Liam Livingstone.
"It needed to be vetted by a qualified chef. Since it's a strict grade one bio-bubble we have to tell the food temperature and how it is sanitised and then only it goes to the room.
"There were a total of 15 pizza boxes and everything was sanitised before being delivered to the room. The player had to make the payment," he further added.
Pooran gets a ‘shock’
While many were left shocked by Pooran’s final bid price, the southpaw got a shock in his hotel room as well as he faced problems with his phone charger. The new phone charger gave him a mild shock when he put it in the socket as it was still wet from the regular sanitisation process.
"When he put it in the socket, he was shaken by a mild shock," said the team manager. "Sanitiser contains alcohol and probably it did not dry up properly when he plugged it to get a jolt."
The 26-year-old scored just 85 runs at a disappointing average of 7.72 in the previous season for Punjab Kings (PBKS) despite getting several chances.
His recent form was not great as well. He scored just 61 runs from three innings in the recently-concluded ODI series which Rohit Sharma-led India won 3-0.
