‘I never thought Bangalore would pick me’ – Indian domestic star recalls auction day from Indian T20 League 2020

The Bangalore franchise is one of the only teams without an Indian T20 League (ITL) title. They will look to change that when they start their 2023 season on April 2 against the Mumbai franchise. In the previous edition of the competition, the Faf du Plessis-led team advanced to the playoffs, where they lost to the Lucknow team in the elimination game. Reece Topley has strengthened Bangalore this season, while their other foreign acquisition, Will Jacks, was forced to miss the entire campaign due to an injury. The New Zealander Michael Bracewell will replace the English hitter in the team.

Shahbaz Ahmed, a bowling all-rounder who is 28 years old, is one of the players that made it into Team India due to strong performances for the team over the past few years. He has played 29 times for Bangalore and earned his India debut against South Africa in an ODI last year.

‘It was better if I went unsold’ – Shahbaz Ahmed

Ahmed, however, stated that he did not want to be selected at all for the 2020 season of the competition, more than three years after being chosen by Bangalore in the auction. Shahbaz said he had a shoulder ailment and declined to play for the team that season.

“I never thought Bangalore would pick me; it was surprising. To be honest, I had a shoulder injury that time. Every cricketer wants to play in ITL, 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 Bangalore would buy me. In fact, I was thinking it would be better if I go unsold because I didn’t want any problems to resurface in the ITL. If I’m not fit, the season would go waste,” Ahmed said on the Bangalore Podcast.

“My teammate Ishan Porel was picked by Punjab first. Next was my turn. On the first attempt, I had gone unsold, and I was so happy. I switched off the TV, and I felt relieved. But as the auction was coming to an end, my friends told me I was picked by Bangalore. Everyone was still seeing the auction in the dressing room, and everyone was happy,” said Shahbaz.

“On the inside, though, I thought, ‘oh no, how did this happen’. My biggest fear was I was picked by Bangalore, 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. But Covid was the game-changer for me. In lockdown, I got time to have shoulder surgery. When I joined the team for the first training camp, I was fit,” the all-rounder added.