Ashok Dinda, the discarded Indian pacer admitted after the IPL auctions that he was pretty happy to be a part of the Rising Pune Supergiants, led by India’s limited overs skipper MS Dhoni. Dinda though was initially unsold in the first round of the auctions. He was later purchased by the Pune management in another round meant for unsold players.
The Bengal pacer admitted that he was initially taken aback when he realized that he didn’t find his name in any of the squads. Dinda, currently participating in the Ranji Trophy Quarter Finals against Madhya Pradesh in Mumbai, however, revealed that he wasn’t too glued to the IPL auction, but just the Ranji Trophy match he was participating in.
“I never really thought about the auction,” Dinda said. “The only thing on my mind was to try and get Madhya Pradesh all out. Even on the TV in our dressing room, the channel showing our match was on. Not even one player’s mind was on the auction as we had a quarterfinal match going on,” he said.
“It didn’t matter how bad the situation was, but our mind was firmly on the match. It is only now we have been speaking about it,” he said. “I didn’t think I would go unsold in the first round,” Dinda concluded.
Dinda has been an experienced pacer in IPL and made his debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders way back in 2008 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has represented a few franchises, such as the Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, Sahara Pune Warriors and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the past.