Former South African batsman AB de Villiers has questioned Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) and SunRisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) choice to pay extravagant sums for Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. He also applauded the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) auction method.
The Australian fast bowling duo of Starc and Cummins made history by being acquired for 24.75 crore and 20.50 crore, respectively, in the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai. The Australians are officially the two most expensive purchases in IPL history.
During a recent Q&A session on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers was questioned if he thought MI was wiser than KKR and SRH during the IPL 2024 auction. He agreed and added:
“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.”
AB de Villiers
While KKR and SRH paid more over 20 crore for Starc and Cummins, respectively, Mumbai Indians paid less than 15 crore for the trio of Gerald Coetzee (5 crore), Dilshan Madushanka (4.5 crore), and Nuwan Thushara (4.8 crore).
AB de Villiers remarked of the Mumbai Indians’ auction purchases:
“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.”
AB de Villiers
While Mumbai paid 1.5 crore for Nabi, Gopal was acquired for 20 lakh.
“He had a lot of steam” – AB de Villiers recalls facing a young Gerald Coetzee
AB de Villiers also mentioned facing a youthful Coetzee in a match a few years ago on his YouTube video. The former cricketer stated that he bowled with plenty of pace:
“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.”
AB de Villiers
Gerald Coetzee was South Africa’s outstanding bowler in the 2023 ODI World Cup, taking 20 wickets at an average of 19.80 in eight matches.