Three years after joining Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), 28-year-old bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed has made a stunning claim ahead of 2023 season of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The youngster confessed he wanted to remain unsold in IPL 2022 auction but eventually was picked by the Bangalore-based franchise, captained by megastar Virat Kohli. Shahbaz impressed everyone with his all-rounder abilities in IPL and later went on to make his debut (IND vs SA ODI series in 2022) for the national team. Notably, despite having so many big names in their team over the years, RCB are yet to win their maiden title in the tournament.
"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. 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," Ahmed said in the latest episode of the RCB Podcast.
"My teammate Ishan Porel was picked by Punjab first. Next was my turn. In 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 end, my friends told me I was picked by RCB. Everyone was still seeing the auction in the dressing room, and everyone was happy," said Shahbaz.
Shahbaz Ahmed opens up on 'Virat Kohli fear factor'
"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.
"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," the all-rounder asserted.