Sydney, Dec 21 (PTI) Former Australia spinner Jason Gillespie has questioned Pat Cummins’ huge price tag in the IPL, saying T20 cricket is not the best fast format but backed Mitchell Starc’s sensational dropping $A deal worth 24.75 crores.
Cummins secured the second-highest salary at an auction in Dubai on Tuesday after an intense bidding war between Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, who pocketed a huge sum. $Rs 20.50 crore for the Australian captain.
“Pat is obviously a good player and a high-quality captain, we’ve seen that. I don’t think T20 is the best format for him,” Gillespie told SEN Radio.
“I think he’s a Test player personally. I think Test cricket is his absolute bread and butter.”
This was not the first time that Cummins, who has 55 wickets in 50 T20I matches at an average of 24.54 and an economy of 7.37 in T20Is, has attracted huge sums in the IPL auction. Prior to the 2020 edition, KKR had paid $15.5 crores for his services.
“He’s a good T20 player, make no mistake. But that’s a huge exaggeration for me,” Gillespie added.
Just over an hour after Cummins secured his deal, Starc surpassed his captain to become the most expensive player in ISL history as Kolkata Knight Riders had a stunning outing. $24.75 crores for left arm services.
Starc, who usually prioritizes international duty over playing in the Indian Premier League, played just two seasons of the cash-rich league, taking 34 wickets in 27 matches at an average of 20.38.
“I think it’s a great deal. It’s a lot of money, we all admit that, but the Indian Premier League is a very rich league… I’m very happy for Mitch.
“I think this highlights how important it is for teams to value left-arm fast bowling and left-arm swing bowling,” Gillespie said.