‘Kai Po Che’ Child Actor Digvijay Deshmukh Signed By Mumbai Indians In IPL Auction For ₹20 Lakhs

Hard work, focus and patience are indeed needed to reach a certain mark in life but no one knows when will you be able to live your dream. For Digvijay Deshmukh, it took years of hard work before his efforts paid off. Wondering who is this lad we are talking about? Let me give you a heads-up. Remember the little boy Ali Hashmi, the budding cricketing talent trained by Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput) in the 2013 movie ‘Kai Po Che: Brothers… for Life’?

The 14-year-old who played the local boy Ali in the movie that was an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s novel ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life’ is now a 21-year-old cricketer, Digvijay Deshmukh.

The small-town boy, who agreed to star in the movie only because he could play the role of a cricketer, was bought by Mumbai Indians in the IPL (Indian Premier League) auction that recently took place, reported The Hindu.

Guyssss!!

Remember that kid in Kai Po Che whom @itsSSR trains and helps him to become an international cricketer?

He is now picked up by @mipaltan for 20 lakhs. His name is Digvijay Deshmukh… What a story! #IPLAuction #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/k0Lsz4VwOh

— Vinesh Prabhu (@vlp1994) December 19, 2019

Six years since Digvijay played Ali in the movie, he is now set to live his dream of playing IPL matches as an integral part of Mumbai Indians.

#IPL2020 – Here. We. Come 👊💙#IPLAuction #OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #CricketMeriJaan #IPLAuction2020 pic.twitter.com/yXiVuFWUf1

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 19, 2019

He has been signed at the IPL auction for Rs 20 lakh. “Yes, I am Digvijay and I acted as ‘Ali’ in that movie ‘Kai Po Che’. But I was never an actor and always a cricketer. Now I am slowly realising my dream,” Digvijay said.

Sharing how he never intended to be an actor, he said to India Today:

“I had gone to play a U-14 school tournament in Mumbai and one of the ADs of the film selected me for the audition and then I got the role.”

“Everyone was very nice. I remember playing a lot of cricket with Sushant [Singh Rajput] and Rajkumar Rao. The character was somewhat like me shy, reticent.”

Although he was the talk of the town for his acting in the movie, he didn’t like when people called him an actor.

“People would refer to me as an actor and I would be very angry. ‘Mujhe gussa aata thaa.’ I did ‘Kai Po Che’ because a lot of scenes were just about playing cricket.”

“But staying outdoor for four months hampered my cricket and I didn’t want that to happen ever again,” added Digvijay. He was so determined to become a cricketer that he kept rejecting acting assignments.”I got an opportunity to do a television commercial but I declined. My parents also supported me. I didn’t want the focus to waver from the game.”

Digvijay also said to sources that he is inspired by Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli, “Virat Kohli is my inspiration and role model. Everyone knows how hardworking he is, and whatever he has achieved is because of his hard work. So he is my role model.” According to the Asian Age, Deshmukh made his debut for Maharashtra in the 2019-20 season of the in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and was rewarded for taking 9 wickets in 7 games.

He also smashed six wickets while scoring 83 on his Ranji Trophy debut against Jammu and Kashmir. Well, dreams do come true. It depends on how committed you are and Digvijay is the living example of that. All the best, buddy!