2018 IPL auction: Was expecting bid of at least a crore, says Mumbai Indians' latest recruit Rahul Chahar

Rajasthan's 18-year-old leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was snapped up by Mumbai Indians for a hefty sum of INR 1.9 crore in the ongoing 2018 IPL auction. The leg-spinner was a part of the Rising Pune Supergiant set up last year where he picked two wickets in three matches.

Chahar was recently a part of the Rajasthan squad which went on to reach the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. There, in four appearances, he bagged six wickets and was fairly economical as well, giving away 24, 28, 19 and 31 runs in the four matches respectively.

Sportskeeda caught up with the youngster immediately after MI bought him on Day 2 of the auction. He revealed that he was expecting a bid of at least a crore as his recent performances were noteworthy.

"So in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, I performed pretty well. Though I didn't play in the first few matches, later in the tournament when I was drafted in, I was fairly economical and picked wickets as well. So, I was sure that the bidding will go up until at least 1 crore as the leg-spinners are in demand as well," he said.

Remarkably, despite being one of the best under-19 players, Chahar wasn't drafted into the India U19 side for the ongoing World Cup. Upon being asked how important the auction was for his career after the WC snub, he said, "World Cup is a very good platform to gain attention (which I missed out on), however, playing the last few matches of Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, and the fact that they were aired live on TV as well helped me cover up the lost ground.

"In spite of all of that though, playing in the World Cup is everyone's dream and I'll always rue the missed chance."