‘Price tags of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi at IPL Auction not surprising'

Kolkata, January 30: The coaches of India Under-19 fast bowlers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, who were bagged by the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, feel their wards will justify the price tags attached to them in the IPL.

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While 18-year-old Kamlesh was snapped up for Rs 3.2 crore, Shivam, 19, commanded a price of Rs 3 crore at the IPL auction on January 27-28. Both the players are currently in New Zealand playing the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Now, they are both coached by former India captain Rahul Dravid.

Kamlesh honed his skills at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. Its coach, M Senthilnathan, was not surprised with the price for the services of his student. "Kamlesh's father was an Armyman. They used to live in Jaipur that time. The coach there, Surendra Rathore, also a friend of mine, saw Kamlesh bowling with a tennis ball at the Jaipur Army Parade Ground. Surendra then told me about Kamlesh. I later saw him bowl at the Under-19 Challengers Trophy and subsequently called him to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. He can bowl at an impressive speed of over 140 kmph," Senthil said, adding that even Glenn McGrath, the chief coach of the MRF Pace Foundation, was impressed by the bowling of Kamlesh.

Shivam Mavi, on the other hand, started his journey as a batsman. However, he becamse a fast bowler heeding to the advice of his childhood coach, Fulchand Sharma, who is a former Uttar Pradesh fast bowler.

"Even when he used to bat at the nets like an established batsman, he used to bowl at a marvelous speed," Sharma said over the phone from Noida. "So, I advised him to concentrate on bowling. Today, in the ongoing World Cup, he is bowling at an average speed of 145 kmph!