India vs Sri Lanka: Shivam Mavi wants to impress captain and 'great leader' Hardik Pandya

New Delhi, Dec 29: Young pacer Shivam Mavi received a double delight in a week's time as he was first picked up by Gujarat Titans in the IPL mini-auction and later received a maiden India call-up for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Having overcome his fair share of injuries and done the hard yards in domestic cricket, Mavi now wants a chance from India skipper Hardik Pandya to shine in the upcoming home series.

On December 23, he was snapped by Titans, the IPL 2022 champions, for a whopping Rs 6 crore in the IPL 2023 auction. After getting his India call-up, the 24-year-old is supremely confident that he won't let Hardik down.

Hardik Pandya - a great leader

"Hardik Pandya supports every player. He is a great leader. It is very difficult to be the IPL champion in the first outing but he managed to do it. He led Gujarat Titans from the front and became champions. He is a calm leader but took some bold decisions," the 24-year-old told PTI in an exclusive interview.

"As a captain, Hardik bhai is very shrewd and a master tactician. He knows exactly whom to bowl when and whom to promote in the batting order. I know it is not going to be easy for me but I am just hoping to get a game, perform there and be a regular for India," Mavi added.

Back to the grind after unforgettable IPL 2022 Season

But the journey to the national team was not easy for Mavi after a difficult IPL 2022 season with Kolkata Knight Riders, where he took only five wickets in six games at an economy rate of 10.31 after fetching Rs 7.25 crore. He went back to the nets and worked hours on to bring variations in his bowling, especially death bowling skills and included the bouncer and yorker in his repertoire.

Shined for UP in domestic competitions

The efforts seemed to have bore fruit as Mavi was influential for Uttar Pradesh across domestic white-ball competitions this year, picking up 10 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament and 14 scalps in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

"I didn't do anything different. I just worked hard in the nets. I know I can generate speed, so just concentrated on bringing variations into my bowling. It paid off as I became more consistent this year," Mavi said.

"A lot of senior players in the Uttar Pradesh team helped me like Anureet Singh, Parwinder Awana, who is also from Noida. They taught me how to bowl, how to plan out things."

Mavi, who was a key member of victorious India's U-19 World Cup-winning squad in 2018 alongside Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw, said a patient approach ultimately paid dividends for him. He also had to deal with injuries at the start of his career.

"It's a great feeling and a proud moment to represent your country. Shubman and Prithvi made their India debuts before me but I knew it was all about the right time. Every individual has his or her luck and time," he said.

Despite a below-par performance in the last IPL, Mavi was confident of a good price in this year's IPL mini-auction and also got the team of his choice.

"Yes, I was expecting something around Rs 5 and 6 crore. It is a result of my consistent performance. I always wanted to be in GT because I have heard that their management is very good. GT has Hardik bhai and (Ashish) Nehra bhai, the two best thinkers of the game," he said.

Mavi's journey in formative years

In his formative years, Mavi started as a top-order batter but transformed into a genuine fast bowler under his childhood coach Phoolchand Sharma.

"I started as a batter but I also used to bowl at nets later I noticed I didn't have the batting skills to become a proper batter. I started to realise after some time that bowling suits me more than batting.

"Becoming a bowling all-rounder would be a better option for me," said Mavi, who idolises South Africa pace great Dale Steyn. Phoolchand Sharma was understandably ecstatic after Mavi's India call-up.

"Shivam came to me when he was 10 years old. He started as a batter but he used to bowl occasionally at the nets and was a very aggressive bowler. He is a fighter and a big match player. He plays very well under pressure," Sharma said.

(With PTI inputs)