Days after former India batsman Virender Sehwag sensationally claimed the Australian players did not sledge the Indian players in the recently-concluded One-Day International series because of the IPL contracts, Australia fast-bowler Jason Behrendorff has admitted the Australians are eyeing playing in the lucrative league.
“They (Australian players) are scared because of the next year’s mega IPL auctions. If they had sledged the Indian players in the ODI series, then the Indian franchise owners might think before bidding high for the Australian players. This can also be a reason for them not to get involved in sledging with their Indian counterparts,” Sehwag had told India TV.
But while Sehwag’s comments are more than likely to be his personal opinion, there is no denying the players from Down Under are eyeing lucrative contracts and Behrendorff’s comments more or less ascertain it.
With contracts of the majority of the players coming to an end this year, the next year’s auction is going to be the biggest one since the inaugural one in 2008. Several reports have suggested that all players may be available in the auction which will get dubbed as ‘mega auction’.
At the time being, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not made any official statement regarding the auction, but it is expected that some of the biggest stars will be up for grabs in the forthcoming auction.
“It’d be huge, everyone wants to play in the IPL,” said Behrendorff.
The left-arm pacer is the only member of Australia’s T20I squad who is yet to play in the Indian Premier League, arguably the most significant cricket league on the planet.
“You chat to all the guys in the Big Bash who have done it or are aspiring to do it, and they say how great a competition it is, how much fun it is, the people they get to meet and the crowds they play in front of,” he said.
“It’s an experience I’d love to have. You never know,” added the pacer who is in line to make his international debut in the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, starting Saturday (October 7).