'I got a lot of appreciation from him' - Vivrant Sharma relives endearing interaction with Irfan Pathan

The overseas all-rounder trio of Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, and Cameron Green grabbed the headlines after their big-money moves in the IPL 2023 auction. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad splashed the cash on another young talent from Jammu and Kashmir. A young Vivrant Sharma, who was signed for INR 2.6 crore by SRH, shed light on his interaction with former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan during a Ranji Trophy camp.

It is another rags-to-riches story for young Jammu and Kashmir cricketer Vivrant Sharma who was acquired for more than ten times his base price of INR 20 lakh. The top-order batter came into the limelight after a prolific season with the bat in his side's run through to the quarter-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2022.

The southpaw endured several hardships during his early career, including the demise of his father in 2020, which saw his elder brother drop his cricketing career. He shared a story involving former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan, who has been quite vocal about the cricketing talents in the state.

"I had attended the Ranji Trophy camp when he got associated with the Jammu and Kashmir side. I got a lot of appreciation from him, and he said that I had a lot of potential. I spent a very good time with him and got some valuable input from him," Vivrant said while speaking to CricketNext.

It feels good that I will be joining Umran and Abdul on the side: Vivrant

Vivrant fulfilled the dreams of his late father after joining the SRH camp in the IPL auction, following in the footsteps of Umran Malik and Abdul Samad, who have represented the Hyderabad-based franchise in IPL. He revealed his excitement about joining his statemates in the SRH squad for the upcoming season that commences next year.

"We (Me, Umran, and Abdul Samad) share a very good bond. In fact, we started playing together. So, it feels good that I will be joining him and Abdul on the side. I’m pretty excited," he added.