Sanjay Manjrekar’s Mohammed Shami prediction proved wrong as Sunrisers Hyderabad break the bank for India pacer

Sunrisers Hyderabad broke the bank for Mohammed Shami at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, in Jeddah on Sunday. The pacer was sold to SRH for ₹10 crores in a mega-bidding war.

Shami recently returned to action after a long injury, and fell victim to a recent prediction by former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar commented that the pacer wouldn’t be sold for a lot of money during the auction.

In response, Shami lashed out at the former player on his Instagram story, where he wrote, “Baba ki jai hoooooo. Thoda sa gyan apne future k lie bhi bacha loo kaam ayega Sanjay G? Kisi ko future janna ho to sir se mile.”

Mega-bidding war for Mohammed Shami

But the ongoing IPL 2025 auction proved Manjrekar’s prediction wrong as Kolkata Knight Riders began the bidding war, with Chennai Super Kings coming into the picture. It went to 8.25 crores and CSK pulled out. Then Lucknow Super Giants rushed in, and the bidding went to 9.75 crores, before they pulled out too. SRH came out on top with a bid of 10 crores, before GT were asked to RTM.

Shami was out of action since 2023, with his outing in the 2023 World Cup final being his final international match. He sustained an injury during the tournament and made his comeback to professional cricket recently, at the Ranji Trophy for Bengal.

The pacer was released by GT ahead of the auction, and also missed the 2024 season due to injury. Shami finished as India’s leading wicket-taker in the 2023 World Cup, and also became the fastest bowler to reach 50 wickets in the 48 years history of the tournament, covering 13 editions. He took seven wickets for 57 runs in the semis, which is the record for best figures for an Indian bowler in ODIs, and is also the only Indian bowler to have bagged seven dismissals in an ODI innings.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant became the most expensive buy in IPL history, as LSG roped him for ₹27 crores. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer was sold to PBKS for ₹26.75 crores.