File photo of AB de Villiers
Something unheard of happened at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. Twice the Rs 20 crore mark was breached, for the first ever time, as Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders) and Pat Cummins (Rs 20.50 crore, SunRisers Hyderabad) made history. The reactions to those astronomical salaries were varied. While some justified the price, there were some who were left wondering about whether the duo deserved such high a bid. South Africa and Royal Challengers Bangalore legend Ab de Villiers looked amused at such a high price.
"Some very smart buys. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and other teams that do well in the IPL do well in the auction as well. They make smart buys and not emotional buys. Cummins and Starc, both incredible players, but really, for that price? (smiles) It just shows you the demand. There was demand for fast bowlers in this year's auction and when the demand goes up, the price goes up," AB De Villiers said in a recent Q&A session.
The South African praised five-time champions Mumbai Indians for their smart buys.
"Nuwan Thushara and Dilshan Madushanka - two fantastic players. Also, Mohammad Nabi and Shreyas Gopal two very good buys for their price. They can offer you a lot. I think they did pretty well. All the young bowlers will feed off Jasprit Bumrah. I absolutely love the look of Coetzee, Madushanka and Thushara," he added.
"I faced this guy (Gerlad Coetzee) about 6-7 years ago. I think he was 18 or 19 years old and he impressed me a lot. He had a lot of steam, a lot of presence. He was in my face in that game. He is going to the mighty Mumbai Indians only for Rs 5 crore. That's a lot of money, but if you compare it to some other players, this was a steal."
Royal Challengers Bangalore star Dinesh Karthik, who was retained by the side ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, pointed that foreign players and their agents cleverly use the mini auction to get paid some 'absurd, unheard of prices'.
"I'm not a big fan of players coming straight into MINI auctions and I feel foreign players and their agents seem to use it cleverly because they see a loophole there. I feel BCCI can clamp down on this problem and I've given a couple of solutions in my recent video for @cricbuzz," Karthik posted on X.
In the video he said: "Third trend is an unhealthy one. What I have noticed is the mini-auction is used by players and agents very cleverly, where they bring them in mini auction and they go for absurd and unheard of prices knowing that the teams come in with a lot of money and they have holes to fill. hence, the price skyrockets to a whole different level.
"Now, let's take the example of Jasprit Bumrah. He is at 11 crore. Some of the bowlers who have come in the mini auction have gone for huge prices. Last year it was Cameron Green, Sam Curran. This year it is Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and it is no fault of theirs. They are just prioritising their country, their cricket, looking at their bodies. But also, it is a bit of tactic about how instead of coming to the main auction, they let that pass, and come in the mini auction that happens the next year. And they use the holes and go for some crazy price. Unhealthy trend should stop."
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