The former South African captain Ab de Villiers has not been shocked with the England veteran pacer James Anderson registering for the upcoming mega auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The latter retired from the game, finishing as the third leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 704 scalps.
Ab de Villiers felt that INR 1.25 crore, the base price for the Burney-born, isn’t huge for the England great to make a three-month trip to India and share the dressing room with some of the young Indian fast bowlers. Anderson stunned the world by throwing his name in the auction for the first time in 42 years.
“It almost gives me the same kind of feeling with MS Dhoni that he decided to take a pay cut. Yes, Jimmy, ₹1.25 crores as a base price, which is not a lot for the status this guy has got. Maybe he will go for only 1.25 and still be prepared to go to India, leave his family for almost three months, and maybe not even play a game and share a dressing room with some of the young Indian fast bowlers.” The Pretoria-born expressed this in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
The last of the 44 T20 games for Jimmy came more than a decade ago when he picked up 41 scalps at an average of 32.14 and an economy rate of 8.47, with the best figure of 3/23.
Also Read: No Coaching Contribution For Sanju Samson’s Redemption With Successive 100s!! Ab de Villiers Claims
Ab de Villiers addressed that if he were the owner of any franchise, he would have loved to sign the veteran only because of his vast experience and aura in the game.
“I think it’s fantastic I was one of the franchise owners, and I could get Jimmy for INR 2-3 crores. I would take him purely because I believe that there’s a lot of experience that can be shared with some of the young players, and just his aura and the dressing room will keep the bowling unit confident. This guy knows his game inside out.” The former member of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) explained.
Ab de Villiers desires to see James Anderson featured in the IPL 2025
The longevity of any player in the game is a crucial part, but to continue playing the longest format for more than two decades without paying much attention to the huge cheque shows the character of the player and what his dream was.
However, the dynamics of the league, which is so famous around the world, are different and modern. The former bashing middle-order batter of the Rainbow nation hopes to see a franchise lifting the paddle for the fast bowler in the mega auction.
“He is 42 years old and might not be able to execute as well on the park anymore, but he still knows, exactly, what’s required to win games of cricket with the ball in hand. What I think is I hope someone picks him up purely from an experienced point of view almost, having like a bowling captain in the change room where he players a lot of games or not, it doesn’t matter.” Ab de Villiers interacted in the same video.
“It’s fantastic that this guy is keen to go over to India for a few months of the year and share his experiences with some of the younger Indian players and other overseas players from around the world.” He concluded.
The powerplay has been a concern for most of the teams, and Anderson, with his experience, can bring a different dimension to the contest. But even if he goes unsold, it should not be a surprising prospect. The mega auction of the IPL 2025 will take place on November 24 and 25.