"Gives me a same kind of feeling as MS Dhoni that he decided to take a pay cut"- AB de Villiers on James Anderson registering for IPL 2025 auction
Former South African batter AB de Villiers likened England legend James Anderson registering for the IPL 2025 auction to MS Dhoni's retention as an uncapped player for only ₹4 crore. Anderson retired from international cricket earlier this year, finishing as Test cricket's third-leading wicket-taker with 704 scalps.
However, the 42-year-old stunned the cricketing world by throwing his name in the IPL auction list for the first time in his illustrious career.
Reacting to Anderson's inclusion at a base price of ₹1.25 crore in the IPL auction list, De Villiers said on his YouTube channel 'AB de Villiers 360' via Hindustan Times:
"It almost gives me a 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 as 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."
"I think it's fantastic and 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," he added.
Anderson has played only a handful of T20Is for England, with his last outing in 2009. The pacer has 18 wickets in 19 T20Is at an average of 30.66 and an economy of 7.84.
"He still knows exactly what's required to win games of cricket with the ball in hand" - AB de Villiers on Anderson
AB de Villiers expressed confidence in James Anderson by terming him a potential match-winner even at age 42.
Anderson has played only 44 overall T20 games in his over-two-decade-long career, picking up 41 wickets at an average of over 32.14 and an economy of almost 8.50.
"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 really matter," De Villiers said 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.
With powerplay bowling a concern for several IPL teams, Anderson might be an excellent value-add even at his advanced age.
It remains to be seen if and how many franchises bid for the veteran pacer in the 2025 IPL mega auction on November 24 and 25.