'I had no idea who he was' - Robin Minz's mother recalls the time Dhoni's coach came looking for her son

Robin Minz has been getting a lot of traction ever since Gujarat Titans (GT) acquired him for a handsome sum of INR 3.60 crores in the IPL 2024 auction. Robin is so famous for his hard-hitting abilities that he is known as “Jharkhand’s Chris Gayle” in his local circles. No wonder four franchises - Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) - went after him in the mini-auction.

Robin’s superior talent was identified early by his father, Francis Xavier Minz, who did everything he could to help Robin grow. Francis met MS Dhoni at the Ranchi airport, where the CSK captain assured him that his team would pick Robin if no other side did in the auction. The owners of Yellow Army tried buying him but had to pull out eventually.

Also Read: IPL 2024 auction: Who is Robin Minz, the first tribal cricketer in IPL?

ESPNcricinfo reached out to Robin Minz’s mother, Elis, who was obviously very happy. She stated they never thought their son would reach this level one day. Elis also revealed an incident when Robin’s photo was published in the newspaper.

“We could never imagine that our son will achieve something like this. He has made us so happy. Once, a long time back, Robin had gone to play in Khunti [a district in Jharkhand], and did so well that reporters came to my home, and they put my picture in the papers the next day. I can't tell you how happy and proud that made me. I even called his father and told him, jokingly, that my picture had come in the papers, but his hadn't. I think that incident convinced us that Robin would do well as a cricketer,” said Robin’s mother to ESPNcricinfo.

Robin Minz’s mother recalls the time Dhoni’s coach came looking for her son

Robin’s mother, Elis, recalls when Chanchal Bhattacharya was impressed with her son’s game and came looking for him. Elis revealed that her neighbours introduced him as Dhoni’s coach.

“Chanchal sir came home one day, and I had no idea who he was, and my neighbours told me about him. Chanchal sir told me, 'Don't worry about Robin - he will be on TV soon'.”

Chanchal Bhattacharya, MS Dhoni’s coach, feels Robin Minz is the next MS Dhoni. He said that Robin is also a natural hitter like Dhoni, and that’s why the 21-year-old looks similar to the legendary player. Chanchal termed Robin a “hard-hitter”.

“He had been playing with us at Sonnet for a couple of years," Bhattacharya said. "He was always a natural, aggressive hitter of the ball. He isn't Dhoni yet, but when Dhoni first came to me, we saw that even if he scored just 10 runs, he would hit a six. Robin is the same. They are identical in that respect. Robin is what we call a hard-hitter.”

Credit: ESPNcricinfo

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