Pat Cummins cops truth bomb from Aussie cricket legend over $3.7 million deal
The cricket legend has questioned whether the Aussie captain is worth his massive IPL price tag.
Australian cricket legend Jason Gillespie has questioned whether Pat Cummins is worth the eye-watering figure that Sunrisers Hyderabad paid for him in this year's Indian Premier League auction. Hyderabad briefly broke the record for the most money paid for a player in the history of the IPL auction after snapping up the Australia captain for a staggering AUD$3.67 million.
That record figure was soon blown out of the water when the Kolkata Knight Riders paid a staggering $4.42 million for Mitchell Starc - the franchise securing the services of Cummins' Aussie teammate after winning a bidding war with a number of other teams. While Gillespie suggests Starc could be worth the record-breaking figure, the Test fast bowling great says he believes Hyderabad overpaid for Cummins.
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"Pat's obviously a quality bowler and a quality leader, we've seen that ... I just don't think T20 is his best format," Gillespie told SEN Radio. "I think he's a Test bowler, personally. I think Test cricket is his absolute bread and butter.
"He's a good T20 bowler, make no mistake - but that's massive overs for me." Cummins' stats in the IPL perhaps back up Gillespie's concerns, with the Aussie skipper taking just seven wickets in five games for Kolkata in his last season in the competition in 2022 - having skipped this year's edition of the tournament.
Cummins' record in T20 internationals for Australia is similar, with the 30-year-old taking 55 wickets in 50 appearances at an average of 24.54 and economy of 7.37. Starc, on the other hand, has long been considered Australia's premier fast bowler in white-ball cricket, with the left-arm quick set to rejoin the IPL for the first time since 2015.
Jason Gillespie hails Mitchell Starc deal
"I think he's a great buy," Gillespie said about Starc. "It's a lot of money, we all acknowledge that, but the IPL is a very rich tournament... I'm absolutely delighted for Mitch. I think it just highlights how important teams value left-arm fast bowling and left-arm swing bowling at pace."
The Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans all attempted to snare Starc, but it was the Knight Riders who came out on top for the rights to the 33-year-old during a fierce bidding war. Starc has for years turned down the chance to take up the massive riches on offer in the IPL, to prioritise his health, fitness and family, and to prolong his Test career.
"I made some choices, which I don't regret at all," Starc told the Willow Talk cricket podcast after his record-breaking payday. "I think it's probably helped my Test career, so I'm very happy with how it's all gone. Very grateful to have some interest in the auction and excited, thrilled, surprised. There's plenty of words you can describe the night."
Starc said he didn't plan on watching the auction until a storm rolled in around his home in Sydney, with the quick ultimately ending up watching it all unfold. However, it was Starc's wife and Australia captain Alyssa Healy that was providing the 33-year-old with updates from over in India, where the coverage was slightly ahead of what Starc was watching back home.
“Alyssa was over there with the Australian team at the minute, so her coverage was slightly ahead of mine here in Australia," Starc said in an interview with Star Sports. "So she sort of saw the numbers before I did, so I was getting the updates through her. But, yeah, a fair bit of shock, and certainly excitement with how it was all unfolding. But nothing that I could’ve ever imagined."
with agencies
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