Someone for whom getting a photo with Virat Kohli is a dream, it was surreal when Prayas Ray Barman was picked for the Indian captain’s franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a whopping ₹ 1.5 crore at the IPL auction in Jaipur.

Barman was Bengal’s top wicket-taker in his debut season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy never thought he would be picked at such a price. Sharing his excitement with PTI, the teenager said, “The feeling has not sunk in. But I’m getting a flood of calls, with several in waiting. Never expected I will be picked. Like any other youngster in India, Virat is our role model. I always had a dream to click a photo with Kohli. I’ve tried a lot but did not get any opportunity. Sharing the dressing room, practising, interacting with the likes of Kohli, AB de Villiers on a day to day basis… It will be a big learning curve for me.”

ALSO READ: Prabhsimran Singh Reveals His Cricketing Idols

With a tall 6’1 inch frame, Prayas is not a big spinner of the ball but loves to be quick in the air and accuracy is one of his strengths.

Describing the same, he said, “I was not that tall. It was only a couple of years ago, I’ve grown taller as many people here started telling me that I bowl ‘Kumblesque’.”

Prayas had an impressive debut against Jammu and Kashmir, when he registered the figures of 4/20 and later on, he went on to pick 11 wickets in nine games at an economy rate of 4.45. But despite the brilliant effort, he failed to make the cut to the Bengal Ranji side.

Talking about the same, Prayas said, “Ranji Trophy is a different ball game. I think I’ve to go a long way to play Ranji. I was in the 15 though and learnt a lot from skipper Manoj Tiwary and coach Sairaj Bahutule. He always supported me and never went after me to pursue studies. My sister is an IT professional but I chose cricket. He gave me full freedom to pursue cricket. Now I’m excited to shift to Bangalore where my sister works. This is just the beginning for me. I’ve to learn and keep improving.”

Among the first to call him was his father from New Delhi and his advice was simple that his real achievement should be when he will play for the country. Hailing from Durgapur, Prayas grew up in New Delhi where his father, a general physician, works. His initial journey began at the Ram Pal Cricket Academy in Gargi College in South Delhi.

ALSO READ: RCB invested well in Prayas Barman

But his growth as a cricketer skyrocketed at his native place where he joined Durgapur Cricket Centre under Shibnath Ray and caught the attention in the Ambar Roy Sub-Junior Under-14 cricket tournament. Picked for Bengal U-16, he shifted his base to Kolkata where he lives in a small flat with his grandparents near Dumdum Park in the northern fringes of the city.

Sharing about the same, Prayas said, “It’s been a struggle as we keep shuttling from New Delhi to Kolkata. But we are happy now. He should keep working hard. He should make our country, state our roots proud. My first priority is he should be a good human being, be down to earth.”