The Mumbai Indians went into the IPL 2025 mega auction having to fill up 20 slots. Out of it, they got 20, led by New Zealand pacer Trent Boult and India seamer Deepak Chahar as their top two costliest buys. Boult reunited with the franchise for ₹12.50 crore, whereas Chahar linked up with the five-time champions for 9.25 cr. However, the next costliest were Will Jacks and Naman Dhir, both acquired for ₹5.25 crore each. But while Jacks is the more renowned of the two, Naman’s story is a rather fascinating one.
Naman represented MI in 7 matches at IPL 2024, scoring 140 runs with a best of 62 not out. However, it would probably blow your mind, knowing that two years ago, the 24-year-old almost gave it all up. Despite having represented Punjab at the Under-16 level, Naman’s efforts weren’t recognised, and with his career stuck in limbo, the batter, out of frustration, applied for permanent residence in Canada.
“Half of the Punjab wants to move to Canada and I was also one of them. In early 2022, I almost gave up on cricket. My sister lives in Edmonton, Canada and I was planning to move there. My father said give yourself one year. I did, and in December 2022, made my Ranji Trophy debut. A year later, in 2023 Mumbai Indians picked me,” Naman told The Indian Express.
Naman’s father, Naresh, helped him make the right decision to stick by cricket. Working at a medical shop in Faridkot district, Naresh pushed Naman to try for another year.
.”When I used to go to his school and take him out for his cricket practice, the principal ma’am used to say ‘Dhir sir… you are ruining his career. No one has represented Punjab from Faridkot, forget India.’ Once this taunt became regular, I told Naman one day ‘Once you will come on TV hitting sixes these taunts will turn into claps,'” Naresh recalls while speaking to the Daily.
Naman’s penchant for sixes was visible when MI took on Lucknow Super Giants earlier this year, with the youngster smashing five sixes during his knock of 62 off 28 balls. He couldn’t quite get Mumbai Indians over the line as they fell short by 18 runs, but Naman had grabbed the attention of the onlookers.
Naman may not have triggered a bidding war, per se, but he did attract the interest of Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Excitement grew as all four franchises kept raising the paddle for him before MI jumped in at the right time and exercised their Right to Match card to keep him.
“My heart was pumping. I had a decent season with MI last year. I was hopeful that I would get an IPL contract, but never in the wildest imagination did it cross my mind that I would get this much money,” he added.
Naman is currently playing for Rajkot in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, and although he has scored 12 and 13 in two matches, the belief is that bigger things await.
