Mangesh Yadav’s journey from a small village in Madhya Pradesh to becoming a Rs 5.20 crore IPL player is the kind of story that reminds us why cricket is called the great leveller in India. When his name came up at the IPL 2025 auction in Abu Dhabi, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad got into a bidding war that took the left-arm pacer’s price from a base of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 5.20 crore. For a boy whose father drove trucks to support the family and whose coach waived off hostel fees so he could train, this was more than just a contract—it was redemption for years of struggle and sacrifice.

The auction moment that changed everything

Mangesh could barely believe what was happening when the bids started flying. He told IANS,

“I was just thinking the first bid should happen and a team takes me in. I was very happy with the first bid from RCB. But within seconds in front of my eyes, SRH and RCB were bidding for me and it reached five crores, which was extremely astonishing. My parents back home were very happy. They were also getting calls from relatives.”

Back in Noida, his coach Phoolchand Sharma, who runs Wonders Cricket Club in Sector 34, was watching with pride. He said,

“I can’t tell you how happy I was on seeing him get selected. Before that, a lot of my kids have played in IPL, but there’s a different happiness for him. I have never met his father or mother, nor have I ever spoken to them. I have raised him like my own kid. He’s been a good boy from the start, a calm and hardworking kid.”

From Borgaon village to the cricket field

Mangesh’s cricket story started in Borgaon village in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh. As a six-year-old, he would come home crying after fights with other boys while playing. His mother Rita found a simple solution—she would bowl to him in their home compound and let him bat as long as he wanted. That home practice laid the foundation for everything that followed.

“From there, I started playing cricket regularly and it went on and on. I started bowling a little late with the left arm. But I used to see the bowling of Mitchell Johnson and RP Singh sir bowling and that served me with a lot of motivation,” Mangesh recalled.

His talent was clear, but in a family of six with three sisters, money was always tight. His father Ramavadh drove trucks to make ends meet, and professional cricket training seemed impossible. It took his maternal uncle’s convincing to get his father to agree to let Mangesh pursue cricket seriously.

The coach who changed his life

When Mangesh moved to Noida to train under Phoolchand Sharma, the hostel fees of Rs 20,000 per month were beyond what his family could afford. What happened next shaped his entire career. Mangesh explained,

“Sir saw my game and he liked it. He forgave my fees and told me to stay here and practice, so that was very helpful in my journey. My father has done so much for me. I didn’t have any stress, I just wanted to play cricket, all the struggle was of my father. If it wasn’t for Phoolchand sir, I wouldn’t have been able to play cricket.”

Sharma saw something special in Mangesh from day one. He said,

“You do know that when a left-handed batter or bowler plays, there is an alag nazakat (different sheen) to it. Right from the rhythm of his run-up, he seemed like a perfect packaged bowler. We have to teach a lot of kids that you are running slow, head is falling over and rhythm is not good. But when he used to run and bowl, it was perfect action, like how Zaheer used to have. I used to like Zaheer’s action and he was just like that.”

The academy where Mangesh trained also saw visits from top Indian cricketers like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Ashish Nehra and Hardik Pandya when they were in Delhi-NCR. Learning alongside seniors like Anureet Singh and Mavi helped Mangesh grow quickly as a cricketer.

The reality of his father’s sacrifice

While Mangesh was catching 4am trains for training and matches, his father Ramavadh was waking up at the same hour to start another gruelling shift driving trucks through dangerous roads. Mangesh never forgot that sacrifice. He said,

“My father’s struggle is unmatchable. I used to feel sad that I am going out to play, but the father is waking up daily in the morning, goes out to drive the truck in night through a lot of dangerous roads, though they are in a much better condition now.”

The breakthrough in Madhya Pradesh League

Despite representing Madhya Pradesh in U19 and U23 cricket, Mangesh feared he was running out of time without a proper platform. Then came the Madhya Pradesh League, introduced by current MPCA President Mahanaaryaman Scindia. Playing for Gwalior Cheetahs, Mangesh took 14 wickets to become the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, and IPL scouts finally took notice.

“I thought I would be late in grabbing my opportunity, but Scindia ji introduced the MP League and then I got the chance to perform. When I got good performances in it this year, everything has happened well from then onwards for me,” he said.

His performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy also helped. Despite a poor debut, MP head coach Chandrakant Pandit backed him and even pushed him to bat higher. Mangesh responded by smashing 28 off 12 balls against Punjab. He said,

“My first match was not that good, but the captain backed me well, due to which I was amongst the wickets. Pandit sir told me ‘Mangesh, you will also have to do some batting’. In the second game, he sent me up to bat and I was able to showcase my batting abilities, which felt really good.”

The dream of playing with Virat Kohli

Landing at RCB means Mangesh will share the dressing room with Virat Kohli, something he admits he never thought possible. He said,

“I always wanted to play under Virat sir’s captaincy. But he is not doing it and I feel sharing the dressing room with him is a big deal. I never imagined that I would play alongside him and this set to become a reality is a great feeling.”

But the ultimate dream remains bigger. Mangesh wants to wear India’s blue jersey and bowl the first ball for his country.

“How exciting it will be to wear the RCB jersey and have the ball in hand at the top of my run-up mark. I hope that this paves the way for me to wear the Indian team jersey and bowl the first ball for my country. That will be an out of the world feeling.”

What makes Mangesh special

Coach Phoolchand Sharma believes Mangesh is a rare all-round package among Indian fast bowlers. He explained,

“The biggest thing is India has a lot of fast bowlers, but you won’t get a perfect package like him. I can count them - Arshdeep, Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Shami. All of them are good bowlers. They play for India because they are good. But they won’t be a batter or fielder like them. It’s not that he is my child. I am talking about the language of cricket. Being a cricketer, he is a perfect package. In the future, if God keeps him healthy, you will see him play for India in a year or two.”

Life after the IPL windfall

The Rs 5.20 crore deal has given Mangesh a chance to fulfill his off-field dreams. His top priorities are marrying off his three sisters with dignity, giving his father a break from truck driving after decades of hard work, and buying a house so the family can stop living in rented accommodation.

His advice to young cricketers reflects the lessons from his own journey. He said,

“What I have felt through my cricketing journey is without struggle, you won’t get anything. You won’t get anything easy and if you’re playing cricket, you’ll have to put in more effort, including the double of what is expected usually, as there are times when you won’t get selected even if you perform well. You definitely won’t get selected even if you don’t perform well. So you have to accept that God is always watching you, you just have to work hard and he will give you whatever you want at the right time.”