Royal Challengers Bangalore have always been a star-studded unit in the Indian Premier League. With some stellar names such as Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and many others have played for RCB over the years. The only thing that has worried RCB fans is that the franchise is yet to win the IPL. Despite this, many youngsters dream of playing for RCB in IPL although Shahbaz Ahmed’s was a peculiar case.
He was picked up by the Bengaluru-based franchise in the IPL 2020 auction however, Shahbaz, who would go on to impress in RCB colours and made his Team India debut later revealed that he didn’t want to get picked at all in the auction.
The 28-year-old bowling all-rounder has made 29 appearances for RCB since and he made his India debut against South Africa in an ODI fixture last year.
Three years after joining the franchise, Ahmed has opened up on why he didn’t want to get picked by any franchise and hoped he would go unsold. The youngster revealed that he was nursing a shoulder injury and that’s why he didn’t want to be part of any franchise as he would not be able to give his 100%.
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Speaking on the RCB podcast, Shahbaz opened up on a tumultuous IPL 2020 auction which saw him going unsold in the first before getting picked by RCB.
“I never thought RCB would pick me, it was surprising. To be honest, I had a shoulder injury that time. Every cricketer wants to play in IPL, and I was having a good domestic season then. The people from the association had said that I had a chance in the auction, but I never thought RCB would buy me,” he said.
Ahmed continued, “In fact, I was thinking it would be better if I go unsold because I didn’t want any problems to resurface in the IPL. If I’m not fit, the season would go waste.”
The player who represents Bengal in domestic cricket revealed that he had switched off his TV after going unsold and was in relief!
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“My teammate Ishan Porel was picked by Punjab first. Next was my turn. In first attempt, I had gone unsold and I was so happy. I switched off the TV and I felt relieved,” he stated.
“But as the auction was coming to end, my friends told me I was picked by RCB. Everyone was still seeing the auction in the dressing room, and everyone was happy,” he added further.
“On the inside, though, I thought, ‘oh no, how did this happen’. My biggest fear was I was picked by RCB and Virat bhai was also the Team India captain at the time. I thought, ‘what will happen with me now’. I was having trouble with fielding and Virat bhai is very particular about fielding,” Shahbaz said.
“But Covid was the game-changer for me. In lockdown, I got time to have a shoulder surgery. When I joined the team for the first training camp, I was fit,” he revealed.
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