Aussie cricket great Jason Gillespie explains why Indian Premier League ‘massively’ overpaid Pat Cummins when they gave him $3.6million
- Cummins and Mitchell Starc were given IPL paydays
- Gillespie doesn't think Cummins is worth it
- He truly believes that Starc is worth the coin
Former Australian cricket star Jason Gillespie has raised questions over the high price tag Sunrisers Hyderabad paid for Pat Cummins in this year's Indian Premier League auction.
The franchise briefly held the record for the highest amount paid for a player in IPL history, securing the Australian captain a staggering $3.67 million.
However, that record lasted only 90 minutes, while compatriot Mitchell Starc signed with the Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping $4.42 million.
Gillespie, who played 71 Tests and 97 ODIs for Australia, said while Starc's record-breaking figure may be justified, he believes Hyderabad may have paid too much for Cummins.
“Pat is clearly 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.
“Personally, I think he is a Test bowler. I think Test cricket is his absolute bread and butter.
“He's a good T20 bowler, make no mistake, but those are huge overs for me.”
It was a huge payday at the Indian Premier League mini-auction for Australian bowlers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc
Gillespie believes Starc is worth the money but isn't convinced of Cummins' abilities in the short format of the game
Cummins' stats in the IPL perhaps back up Gillespie's concerns, with the Australian captain taking just seven wickets in five matches for Kolkata in his final season in the competition in 2022 – after skipping this year's edition of the tournament.
Although Gillespie was unsure about Cummins' high price tag, he said Starc was worth every penny.
“I think he's a great buy,” Gillespie said.
“It's a lot of money, we all recognize that, but the IPL is a very rich tournament… I'm absolutely delighted for Mitch.
I think this just highlights how much teams value left-arm fast bowling and left-arm fast bowling.”
While Gillespie may have doubts about Cummins' abilities in the T20 format, IPL franchises are known to sign players even more for their profile than their skills.
Cummins himself sees the IPL as the ideal platform for himself, Starc and Travis Head to refine their T20 skills ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup that follows.
Cummins hopes to use the IPL as the perfect preparation for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup
Starc has eschewed the riches of IP
It was a balancing act for the Australian skipper, with a packed Test schedule and a young family, but he said the stars were more aligned this time than last year when he pulled out of the IPL.
“You just have to have a bit of a plan to map out your year,” Cummins said. “I wanted to make sure that window was there [this year] preserved,” he said.
Aussies Mitch Marsh, David Warner, Matthew Wade, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Green and Maxwell had already been retained by their franchises before the auction.