Iyer in IPL spotlight after strong domestic show

Shreyas Iyer was dismissed for 13 in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Delhi in Cuttack on Monday. That wasn't a bad omen for the young batsman, however, as he was snapped up Delhi Daredevils for Rs 2.6 crore (approx US $433,000) in the IPL 2015 player auction.

The Mumbai player thus became the highest-earning uncapped player in this year's auction, earning 26 times his base price of Rs 10 lakh. At the auction, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders opened the bidding for Iyer. Once Mumbai pulled out of the race, around the Rs 2 crore-mark, Daredevils entered the fray and pipped Knight Riders. With TA Sekhar, one of the best talent scouts in India, and Pravin Amre, Iyer's coach since his early teens, in their think-tank, Daredevils went all the way for him. For domestic-cricket followers, it was not perhaps a surprise that multiple teams bid for the talented batsman, given the exceptional maiden season he has had so far.

After featuring in the last year's Under-19 World Cup, Iyer, 20, was drafted into Mumbai's one-day squad. He played two crucial innings, including a century against Gujarat that helped Mumbai become West Zone champions in the domestic one-day tournament.

"That gave me a lot of confidence, with all the seniors and coaches backing me. I knew that I would be one of the main players for the Ranji Trophy," a confident Iyer told ESPNcricinfo.

He justified the faith by emerging as Mumbai's highest run-maker in the Ranji Trophy so far and was the only rookie among the top 10 run-getters in Ranji at the end of the league stage. Iyer said the game against Uttar Pradesh was the "turning point" for him in the season.

Mumbai had gone to Kanpur on the back of forgettable matches against Jammu & Kashmir and Railways. After restricting UP to 206, Mumbai were reeling at 53 for 5 when Iyer walked out to bat. By the time he was dismissed - the eighth man to fall - the scoreboard read 175 and he had added 75 off just 78 balls in seamer-friendly conditions. Mumbai went on to win the game by eight wickets, kickstarting a season that appeared in shambles before.

"That innings taught me to take responsibility. The conditions were difficult to bat but I backed my instincts and decided to play my shots," Iyer said. "By the time I got out, we had inched closer to the first-innings lead. It made me sure that I can succeed at this level."

In the next game, against Bengal, he was promoted to No 3 and he responded with a stroke-filled 153 at Eden Gardens. Since then, he has been Mumbai's No 3 batsman and tallied 649 runs in the group stage to help Mumbai make a remarkable entry into the knockouts.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for Iyer in his cricket career and he admits he faced rejection frequently in his junior cricket years. As a 12-year-old, he went for a selection trial for the Shivaji Park Gymkhana, one of the hub's of Mumbai's cricket scene, and was not selected. He turned up the next year and the selection committee, which included Amre, spotted the improvement in him.

Despite scoring heavily in the maidans of Mumbai, he was omitted from the Under-16 squad in his first year. The next year, he led the team with flying colours. Despite those results, he was dropped from the Under-19 squad the following year. That made him mentally tougher and hungry for success at the highest level.

With stellar performances in the domestic one-day tournament and the Ranji Trophy, and now an IPL contract, Iyer will be hoping the jinx of contrasting fortunes is broken.