LUCKNOW, Dec. 18 -- From tennis-ball cricket to the red-ball game to Indian Premier League. It's all about the journey of young all-rounder Prashant Veer so far, but his next mission now is to learn the tactics to handle hardships and become successful in the game from none other than former India captain and Chennai Super Kings' own Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "MSD's style of handling pressure is such a great learning for anyone and I would be happy, if could learn this art from him while playing for CSK in the upcoming season," Prashant Veer said on Wednesday, a day after becoming the joint most expensive uncapped Indian player in IPL auctions after CSK bought him and Kartik Sharma for Rs.14.20 crore each. "Reading the mindset of MSD sir would be a big challenge but I will try my best to learn as much as I can. Batting in the lower order isn't easy, but MSD has made No.6 the most entertaining in white-ball cricket. I grew up watching Yuvraj Singh, my ideal in cricket as I love playing lofted shots like him," said Prashant, 20, who started playing in his village as a child with a tennis ball. "At the age of 12, I switched to leather-ball cricket and finally learnt the basics of playing hard ball at the state government's cricket hostel in Mainpuri. I then shifted to Saharanpur where I learnt the nuances of the game," said Prashant, who will next play for Uttar Pradesh in the one-day Vijay Hazare Trophy which starts in Rajkot on December 24. The record payday left him surprised. "I was expecting to be bought, but didn't expect this much. For a while I was not sure, and repeatedly confirmed this from my teammates in the UP side last evening," he said. "But I haven't lost my cool and am still grounded." The Vijay Hazare Trophy would be a big opportunity to sharpen his skills, said Prashant, whose season's best in white-ball cricket was an unbeaten 37 and 3/20 against Jammu and Kashmir in the opening match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last month. The IPL windfall left his mother Anjana Tripathi overwhelmed. "We never stopped him from playing, and today I feel very happy that he has got a chance to play in IPL, that too with Dhoni," she said on Wednesday. "He (Prashant) came on a video call last evening and shared his achievement with all family members. It's a great moment for us, we wish him all the success," she said. "He made all of us proud. We hope to see him wearing the India jersey one day." His father Ramendra Tripathi, a sikha mitra (contractual teacher) was delighted. "Our family always stood behind him (Prashant) as he was good in studies. When he asked us that he wanted to pursue cricket seriously, I supported him to the best of my capacity," he said. "I am a positive man and as a teacher I always support talent. I did that with my son when he started taking more interest in cricket instead of studies after joining the Mainpur Cricket Hostel," he said. Prashant's IPL auction windfall is set to bring a big change in the family's status in Gujipur village in Amethi district. His IPL spotlight will also inspire many young cricketers to give off their best to fetch such big pay packets in the future....