Former South African captain AB de Villiers has reacted to the huge bids that the Aussie duo of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc received at the IPL 2024 auction earlier this week.
Cummins and Starc became the two most expensive players in the IPL history. After Cummins was bought for INR 20.5 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Kolkata Knight Riders roped in Starc for INR 24.75 crore.
AB de Villiers expressed astonishment at the exorbitant prices the two Aussie pacers went for in the IPL 2024 auction. But the RCB legend admitted that it was the demand of quality and experienced international fast bowlers that caused their prices to be so high.
“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 said in a recent YouTube video.
Gerald Coetzee was a steal by MI: AB de Villers
The former Protea skipper reckoned Mumbai Indians made a steal by getting young fast bowler Gerald Coetzee for INR 5 crore. Coetzee was South Africa’s best bowler in the World Cup, scalping 20 wickets in 8 games. He can also provide batting depth lower down the order with his power-hitting.
“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,” the former RCB star mentioned.
