“It is the biggest honour for him. Only a few get the chance to play alongside Sachin Tendulkar,” Tirumalasetti Laxminarayan, the batsman’s father, said.
Tirumalasetti Suman has taken the big leap from Hyderabad. On Thursday, the right-hander inked a two-year deal with Mumbai Indians.
“It is the biggest honour for him. Only a few get the chance to play alongside Sachin Tendulkar,” Tirumalasetti Laxminarayan, the batsman’s father, told DNA on Thursday.
The Deccan Chargers have refrained from making a comment on the move but Suman’s father said the Hyderabad side is no longer the team that it used to be. “There is no Adam Gilchrist, no VVS Laxman, no Andrew Symonds and no Rohit Sharma. My son would have thought of staying on if some of those players were there, but we have decided to move on. Besides, rarely a player gets to have partnerships with Tendulkar,” he remarked.
Suman is known to be a hard-hitting batsman with a penchant for hitting sixes. Among uncapped players, he is the highest scorer with 544 runs in 26 IPL matches, including 21 sixes.
With such a record, he must have got offers from other franchises as well. “We had offers from a few teams. Gilchrist called us from Australia but by then, we had signed on the dotted line for Mumbai,” Laxminarayan said.
He claimed the signing was as per the IPL rules. “He has signed for Rs30 lakh, the amount he is eligible for. We have not taken any black money. For us, the opportunity is important, not the money.”
There has been talk of some political influence in the move, but Laxminarayan flatly denied it. “No politician has influenced the decision. Our close friends have advised us to change the team,” he said. The Mumbai Indians, however, refused to make a comment on the signing.
It is also learnt that there is fierce competition between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils for Sarabjit Singh Ladda, a leg-spinner from Punjab.
Meanwhile, Pune have signed up four more players among who are Rahul Sharma, a leggie from Punjab, Harshad Khadiwale and Ganesh Gaekwad of Maharashtra and Shrikant Wagh of Vidarbha. Team Kochi are believed to have signed up Tanmay Srivastav, a left-hander from UP.
SUMAN FILES
Full Name: Tirumalasetti Laxminarayana Suman
Born: December 15, 1983
Current Age: 27 years
Major Teams: Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad
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