Uncapped New Zealander Bevon Jacobs thought he was being pranked when he woke on Tuesday to a glut of messages congratulating him on being signed by Indian Premier League (IPL) side Mumbai Indians.
Five-times champions Mumbai bought the unheralded 21-year-old batter for 3 million Indian rupees ($35,595) at the IPL auction in Saudi Arabia, which was taking place in the early hours of Tuesday morning in New Zealand.
“It was obviously a bit of a shock. I woke up this morning with my phone going off the hook, so it was a pleasant surprise,” said Jacobs, who has played List A and Twenty20 cricket for Auckland and Canterbury.
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“I didn’t really expect much but I’m grateful for this opportunity … I went to bed because the auction was running until quite early in the morning and so I thought I better go to sleep because I’ve got training in the morning.
“I woke up at 5:30 to about a million different messages from family overseas that were able to watch it live. I thought they were pranking me to start off with,” added Jacobs, who said he had made a last-minute decision to put his name forward for the auction.
In Mumbai, Jacobs will be joined by fellow Kiwis Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner, who are both experienced IPL players.
“I’ll definitely be picking their brains as much as I can and trying to learn from some of the best in the world, so yeah it’s really exciting,” Jacobs said.
The 2025 IPL season runs from March 14 to May 25.
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