‘Now in the name of Sarthak…’, what did Pappu Yadav say on the sale of his son in the IPL auction?

The player auction for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) took place on Tuesday (December 16). A total of 77 players were sold in this mini auction held at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, which also includes the name of Sarthak Ranjan. Sarthak Ranjan is the son of Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Lok Sabha MP from Purnia, Bihar, and Rajya Sabha MP Ranjit Ranjan.

Sarthak was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs 30 lakh. His base price was this much only. KKR started the bidding for Sarthak and after no other franchise picked up the paddle, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team signed him for Rs 30 lakh. Now he will be seen playing for KKR in IPL 2026. Pappu Yadav has expressed happiness over his son getting the IPL contract for the first time and said that now we will be known in the name of Sarthak.

‘Play hard…’

As soon as Sarthak joined KKR in the IPL 2026 auction, Pappu Yadav wrote on Twitter, ‘Congratulations son… play hard. Make your mark on the strength of your talent, fulfill your wishes! Now our identity will be made in the name of Sarthak!

Also read: How is Kolkata Knight Riders looking after IPL 2026 auction? See the full list

Sarthak did wonders in DPL

Sarthak Ranjan was the second highest run-scorer in Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025. While playing for North Delhi Strikers under the captaincy of Harshit Rana, he scored 449 runs in 9 matches at an average of 56.12. During this period his strike rate was 146.73. Sarthak also scored a century in DPL 2025. Due to this performance he reached IPL.

Also read:How is Chennai Super Kings looking after IPL 2026 auction? see full list

There was once an uproar over Sarthak’s selection.

Sarthak Ranjan plays for Delhi in domestic cricket. There was a lot of controversy when he was selected in the Delhi team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2018. This is because Sarthak did not play a single match that season and he was given preference over Under-19 World Cup winning captain Unmukt Chand and Hiten Dalal. After this, questions arose whether Sarthak’s parents are strong personalities in politics, that is why there was a surprise entry in his team. As the uproar escalated, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) chief selector Atul Vasan had to come forward and give clarification.