Manjot Kalra, the hero of the final match in the 2018 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup, where he scored an unbeaten century (101*) and won the Player of the match award, revealed that he had no expectations in the 2018 IPL Auction and he wasn’t expecting any bid on him.

In the recently ended 2018 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup, the left-handed Indian opening batsman Manjot Kalra was the second most runs scorer for his team. Kalra scored total 252 runs with the average of 84. Apart from scoring the unbeaten match-winning century against Australia in the final, he had also scored a half-century (86) against the same team in their opening group stage match.

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Despite not being consistent with the bat in the U-19 WC, the IPL team Delhi Daredevils have the faith in him and that’s why they purchased him for INR 20 lakhs.

However, the 19-years old Manjot had no expectations in the 2018 IPL Auction while he revealed that he wasn’t even expecting a bid.

During a recent interview quoted by Cricketworld, Manjot said about his expectations in the 2018 IPL Auction, “There were no expectations. I did watch a bit of auction ceremony but I wasn’t expecting a bid. There was team meeting going on when someone from my family messaged me that Delhi Daredevils have bought me. We were told not to watch it as it was a distraction for us. There was a simple message for us – we are in New Zealand for the World Cup.”

Manjot’s remarkable U-19 WC final match knock came after the 2018 IPL Auction. Chasing down the target of 217 runs, India reached their target in 38.5 overs after losing only two wickets. Manjot took the vital responsibility in that most important and pressurized match for his nation. He guided Indian youth team to the victory with the special knock of unbeaten 101 runs.

Talking about the game plan of the U-19 WC final match, the left-handed opening batsman said, “There was a clear message from Rahul Dravid (Head Coach), whoever gets set on the crease, just take the responsibility and finish off the game. Take the game till the end, and just finish it. I was playing according to the ball. The two wickets that fell put the responsibility on me. If they (bowlers) were offering me something, I was taking it with both the hands.”

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Talking about the differences in the quality of pitches, Manjot expressed his view by quoting, “The conditions in India and New Zealand are quite different. There is a different bounce in New Zealand. Swing is not a big factor there, but the bounce is.”