Don't want big money, give me matches: Pawan Negi

Delhi all-rounder Pawan Negi had become a household name after the IPL auctions last year. The attacking batsman had grabbed the eyeballs after he was bought for a whopping 8.5 crores INR in the auctions – the second highest last year. But his performances in the IPL season last year were far from being impressive. He struggled to get his act together with the ball and the bat. Towards the end of 2016, Pawan Negi was left out of the Delhi Daredevils franchise. Now, he will be in the auction pool yet again.

Speaking to wahcricket.com, the Delhi all-rounder quoted that he wishes to start the year of 2017 on a new note. He pointed out that the money does not matter to him at the auctions and all he wants is to contribute for the team. “Erase all that happened and start 2017 afresh. I just want to play cricket, work hard and make an impact. I am not bothered how much I get in the IPL auction, it doesn’t matter trust me. It’s all about getting a team where I can get to play and express myself as an all-rounder,” quoted Pawan Negi.

He added that he does not want the 8.5 crores. All that he desires at the moment is to get a chance to play all the matches in the IPL season. “I want to show everyone what I am really worth as a cricketer and not judge me by my price tag. I don’t want 8.5 crores, just give me all IPL games to play and I would be happy.” added Negi.

“People would look at me and keep asking me about the money I got at IPL auction, some would even ask me if I was even that good to get that much! Many didn’t even know I got picked for Indian team as well, but I guess that is what IPL is…2016 had bittersweet memories,” he added further.

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The year of 2016 did not turn out to be very fruitful for him. He was benched in the IPL after only a couple of matches. He was then left out of the India A squad and the Indian team too. Later, he was not even in the Delhi Ranji team this season.

Citing reasons for the same, Pawan Negi reflected, “It all boiled down to my performances in IPL. I didn’t really cash in on the first couple of games and then I was benched and had a long break in between.  At this level you have to keep performing but somehow I didn’t get that many opportunities and from there it all added up.”

Now, he has been named in the Delhi team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to be played in February. He will be playing under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir. But the captain that Negi reveres the most is MS Dhoni. He remarked that playing under Dhoni was the biggest thing that happened to him.

“To play under Dhoni bhai was the biggest gain for me. As a skipper he always took interest in me and backed me to give my best. I learned so much playing under him. It’s a treat to have a skipper like him for any player. This tournament is important for me. I am confident of getting good scores and wickets because this year I just want to make count every opportunity. I made mistakes in 2016 so lost out, but I won’t repeat it this time around,” he conceded.