Tim David is yet to play first-class cricket but the unheralded all-rounder hit the jackpot at the IPL auction ahead of some of the biggest names in the sport.
The 25-year-old Twenty20 specialist was selected by the Mumbai Indians for $1.53 million, which was more than the big bucks shelled out for any other Australian at the auction, including Test skipper Pat Cummins, David Warner and Josh Hazlewood.
David had set a paltry reserve price of $75,000 for his services but he shocked the cricketing world to become the highest-paid foreign player ever signed by the Mumbai franchise.
After Mumbai made their intentions clear early in the action, Kolkata Knight Riders, new team Lucknow Super Giants and the Rajasthan Royals entered the fray for David, pushing his price into seven figures before the Indians eventually secured his signature.
He even scored a bigger pay day than English star Jofra Archer with Mumbai securing his services for a slightly lower fee of $1.48m with doubts over his ongoing elbow problem.
David, a power hitter, who also bowls off spin, was not even in the Australian squad for the five-match series against Sri Lanka which went 2-0 up on Sunday night with a super over victory at the SCG.
Wow! Let’s gooooo @mipaltan ???????? https://t.co/TnvoFo39jv
— Tim David (@timdavid8) February 13, 2022
His rise to a massive pay day is perhaps the modern equivalent of the famous “Peter who?” headlines when little-known off spinner Peter Taylor was plucked out of nowhere by Australian Test selectors to debut in 1987 and took 6-78 on debut in an Ashes Test at the SCG.
Australian white-ball skipper Aaron Finch did not attract a bid on Sunday night while this season’s BBL leading scorer Ben McDermott also went unsigned.
Steve Smith and Adam Zampa, who starred in the T20 World Cup win in the UAE, were also passed in, along with Chris Lynn, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye, D’Arcy Short, Ashton Agar, Josh Phillippe and Moises Henriques were among the other big names left on the shelf.
Smith and Zampa had set a base price of $372,000 while Finch and Richardson had a minimum of $280,000 against their name but to no avail.
Cummins ($1.35m at Kolkata), Warner ($1.16m at Delhi), Mitchell Marsh ($1.2m at Delhi), Hazlewood ($1.44m at Banglaore) had already been snapped up on day one of the auction on Saturday while Glenn Maxwell ($2m at RCB) and Marcus Stoinis ($1.7m at Lucknow) were signed before the bidding process.
No surprise to see Tim David heading off to the IPL, this guy can hit a cricket ball! @SaintLuciaKings #IPLMegaAuction2022 pic.twitter.com/4k84qYKsnn
— CPL T20 (@CPL) February 13, 2022
Born in Singapore, he grew up in Western Australia and has represented Tasmania in the domestic ODI competition.
He has made a name for himself in the BBL, firstly with Perth Scorchers and more recently with the Hobart Hurricanes where he scored 218 runs at 24.22 this season with 14 sixes and 12 fours at a whopping strike rate of 163.9.
A modern globetrotter, he represented Singapore in 14 T20 internationals against far-flung associate member nations like Qatar, Papua New Guinea, Namibia and Bermuda.
And he has also racked up a crowded wardrobe of playing kits from various domestic leagues with stops at the Lahore Qalanders and Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League, the St Lucia Kings in the Caribbean and the Southern Brave in England’s The Hundred competition.
He is currently in the midst of a PSL stint with Multan after finishing his commitments with the Hurricanes last month.
Mumbai also picked up Australian squad member Daniel Sams for $484,000 at the auction on Sunday night and Hobart Hurricanes seamer Riley Meredith for $186,000.
Perth Scorchers paceman Jason Behrendorff is off to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $139,000 where he will play alongside Hazlewood and Maxwell.
Sunrisers Hyderabad snared Sydney Sixers all-rounder Sean Abbott for $446,000, Gujarat Titans added Matthew Wade for the same price while Nathan Coulter Nile ($372,000 at Rajasthan) and Nathan Ellis ($139,000 at Punjab Kings) also pocketed handy pay days.
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