Who Is Mikyo Dorji? The First Bhutan Player To Register In IPL Auction

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Bhutan became an associate member in 2017 and is ranked 76 in the ICC T20I Rankings. There is still a long way to go for the country to make an impression but the process has started. Mikyo Dorji became the first player from Bhutan to register for the upcoming IPL Mega Auction. 

Dorji is a 22-year-old all-rounder registered along with 317 other international players in the IPL Auction. He made his debut against Malaysia in 2018 but his journey began way before that. 

It was at Darjeeling's Saint Joseph School in India where he learned to take cricket seriously. Post his debut, Dorji also visited MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai in 2018 and 2019. During one of his visits, Mikyo Dorji also met MS Dhoni and learned the lesson to keep working hard. 

In 2021, Dorji became the first from Bhutan to play in Nepal's Everest Premier League, representing Lalitpur Patriots. But the ultimate dream is to play in IPL has Dorji said in an interview with New Indian Express. 

“Playing in the IPL is an ultimate dream for me. People saw that there was one player in the auction list from Bhutan and my friends started calling me. But they don’t know (laughs) that this is just the initial round, and the names are going to be shortlisted further. If I am honest to myself, my name will not be there in the main list after it is trimmed. Anyways, just registering is a big deal for Bhutan,” Dorji said. 

“In the future, and I hope so, if any franchise picks a player from Bhutan, it will help a great deal here. For example, Bhutan footballer Chencho Gyeltshen plays in the Indian Super League, it has helped a lot. People and parents alike have started to realise that one can make good money and career out of such sports too. The same thing can happen in cricket too if a player from Bhutan is in the IPL,” concluded Dorji.