Rahul Tripathi shows his delight as Rajasthan Royals swoops in on the opener

The 26-year-old Rahul Tripathi was a shining star in Rising Pune Supergiant’s run to the finals last year before they succumbed to a one-run loss against the mighty Mumbai Indians. The now-defunct RPS franchise bought Tripathi for a meagre amount of Rs 10 lakhs, which was one of the best deals in last year’s auction.

This year, however, brought a bigger price bracket for the opener who’s base price was set at 20 lakhs. 20 lakhs for an opener who has proved his worth in the IPL against star bowlers is a steal for any franchise. An expected bidding war for the opener saw his price increase to 17 times his base price at Rs 3.4 crores to the Rajasthan Royals.

Steven Smith, who was the skipper of the RPS side where Tripathi first came to prominence will now lead him at Rajasthan Royals. The inclusion of the opener is probably one of the steals in this year’s auction, with Rajasthan managing to get hold of the English all-rounder Ben Stokes.

“I feel really happy to be a part of the Royals team and look forward to having a good season with them,” Rahul Tripathi told Sportstar. “My parents are ecstatic – they’re happy that I got another chance to play and improve my game,” he added.

Where did the opener catch the IPL Auctions?

The opener, unlike some of the top players, followed the IPL auctions up closely on the Television to find out where he will gain experience from in the 11th edition of the tournament.

“I was a bit under the weather, so came home early and managed to watch the auctions live,” he said adding “I got a call from the Royals’ team manager (Arun Dev) who then informed me of the proceedings.

However, the opener’s humble, down-to-earth attitude was evident when he said that money did not matter to him as all he wanted to know was where he would gain experience from, and it is under Steve Smith where the right-hander will excel.

“I was actually more excited to find out which team will pick me and where I’ll be gaining experience from. The money didn’t really matter,” he concluded.

Follow live feeds for more updates on IPL auctions.