Robin Minz, a wicketkeeper-batter from Ranchi was bought for 3.6 crore by the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2024 auction. In an interaction with the press, his father Francis Minz revealed that once MS Dhoni met him at the airport and promised him that if no one picked Robin at the IPL 2024 auction, he would make sure that Chennai Super Kings picked Robin Minz.
The IPL 2024 Auction was a record-breaking blockbuster affair. Australia’s World Cup-winning duo of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc broke the deadlock of 20 crores and were picked for Rs 20.50 crore and Rs 24.75 crores respectively becoming the top two most expensive players in the history of the league. Pat Cummins will be playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad while Mitchell Starc got picked by Kolkata Knight Riders.
On the other hand, there was a story of a wicket-keeper batter from Ranchi who was promised by another wicket-keeper batter from Ranchi that he would get an IPL contract. Robin Minz’s father Francis Minz revealed in a media interaction that MS Dhoni promised him during a short meet at the airport that if no one picks his son in the auction, Chennai Super Kings will. “I had met Dhoni at the airport recently. He told me ‘Francis ji koi nahi lega toh hum le lenge.’ (If no one picks him, we will),” he said.
MS Dhoni kept his promise as the opening bid at 20 lacs for Robin Minz was made by Chennai Super Kings and the last bid that they made for Robin was 1.20 crore. He was eventually bought for 3.60 crore by Gujarat Titans. Francis also shared that a CISF jawan came to him, hugged him, and congratulated him for becoming a millionaire. “A CISF jawan came to me, hugged me saying, ‘Arrey Francis sir, aap toh crorepati ban gaye’ (You have become a millionaire),” Francis said.
The 21-year-old left-handed keeper batter is referred to as the Chris Gayle of Ranchi because of his ability to hit the ball long-distance. According to one of his coaches Asif Haque, Robin believes in batting at a strike rate of 200 and has a good build for T20 cricket. Also, his resemblance to Chris Gayle is because both of them are left-handed.
IPL Will Be A Huge Opportunity For Young Talents Like Robin Minz
“We call him Ranchi ka Gayle. He is left-handed, well-built, and hits big sixes. A new-age cricketer, who loves to take on the bowlers from ball one, believes in batting at a strike rate of 200,” said Asif Haque.
Robin Minz is just 21 years old and is a keeper-batter from Jharkhand, a state that has a knack of going promising keeper-batters. Mahendra Singh Dhoni belongs to Jharkhand, Ishan Kishan has played first-class cricket for Jharkhand and now Robin Minz has landed himself an IPL contract with Gujarat Titans. IPL 2024 will be a spectacle of cricket where a lot of young talents will flourish.
It will be interesting to see if a player like Robin Minz could create an impact in this season’s IPL and could be one of the contenders for the Emerging Player award. There are a lot of youngsters who are going to grab every opportunity to show their talent on the big stage.
