South Africa batting legend AB de Villiers feels that there was a demand for fast bowlers in the IPL 2024 Players Auction which was the reason behind Pat Cummins and Mithcell Starc fetching massive money. Cummins’s name came first in the auction as Sunrisers Hyderabad broke the bank for him with an INR 20.5 crore bid, while Starc scripted history by becoming the most expensive player as KKR signed him for INR 24.75 crore.
The legendary Proteas batter feels that the teams who do well in the league also had a good auction. However, the massive price tag of Starc and Cummins did stun De Villiers a bit.
“I couldn’t agree more. 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? 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,” De Villiers said in a recent Q&A session on his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, the former RCB star hailed five-time champions Mumbai Indians for doing some smart business in the auction which make them a lethal bowling unit for next season.
“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 only for ₹15 crore,” he added.
De Villiers also talked highly of Gerald Coetzee and called getting him for INR 5 crore was a steal for Mumbai.
“I faced this guy 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 ₹5 crore. That’s a lot of money, but if you compare it to some other players, this was a steal.”
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