Former South African AB de Villiers believes the Delhi Capitals (DC) may have passed up a potential match-winner by releasing Phil Salt and then failing to re-sign him at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction.
Salt, a dangerous 27-year-old English keeper-batter, appeared in nine IPL 2023 matches for the Delhi Capitals, amassing 218 runs with a strike rate of 163.91 with two half-centuries. Surprisingly, he did not sell during the IPL 2024 auction. In his last two T20I knocks, the aggressive hitter has struck hundreds of times.
De Villiers was recently questioned on his YouTube channel if the Delhi Capitals made a mistake by letting Salt leave. He responded in part to the comment, saying:
“The planning for the IPL auction has been done months in advance. I do agree in a way. Phil Salt, I absolutely love watching him play. He is one of hot favorites in the SA20 tournament. I saw Salt score a lot of runs for the Pretoria Capitals.
“Yes, maybe they have missed out by not buying him or failing to retain him for the Delhi Capitals. He didn’t play much last year and maybe he disappointed some of the management. But, he’s a fantastic player and it’s a shame not to see him there.”
AB de Villiers
Salt has appeared in 20 Twenty20 Internationals for England, scoring 601 runs at a strike rate of 165.56 with two hundreds and two fifties.
“Let’s hope he does recover” – Ab De Villiers hoping to see Pant in IPL 2024
While Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant attended the auction in Dubai, it is still unclear whether he would play in the IPL 2024. When asked who could replace Pant if he becomes injured, De Villiers said:
“Let’s hope he does recover. It will be nice to see him run out in the Delhi Capitals colors again and to hit some cricket balls like only he can. I am not sure who the replacement can be. Kumar Kushagra will be the wicketkeeper I think then.
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers Added:
“I can’t wait to watch him play. Going for that amount of money, there must be potential there. Let’s hope Mr. Rishabh Pant plays again. He’s one of my favorite players.”
AB de Villiers
At the IPL 2024 auction, DC paid 7.2 crore for young keeper-batter Kushagra. Other notable purchases of the IPL 2024 auction were Harry Brook (4 crore), Jhye Richardson (5 crore), Shai Hope (75 lakh), and Tristan Stubbs (50 lakh).