South Africa’s player Rilee Rossouw, who is representing the Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10, is hoping for a bidding war in the IPL auction on December 19.
In the last year’s auction, there was a two-way battle between the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals for Rilee Rossouw. It was the Capitals who prevailed. They managed to rope in the attacking South African batter for ₹4.60 crore, more than double his base price of ₹2 crore. The return of Rossouw to the IPL after eight years, however, was not as impactful as he or even DC would have imagined. 209 runs in nine outings at a strike rate of 148 was not bad, but it wasn’t enough to make DC win regularly.
Rossouw said, “Don’t have a particular thing in mind. I think the Delhi Capitals were really good to me last year. We had a solid camaraderie around the team. But in saying that, I did well with the Knights team in the American League. So it would be nice if it were a little bit of a bidding war. I mean, that would be ideal for myself.”
He further added, “I think IPL does everything on a bigger canvas. Everything’s bigger and better there, as they say. It’s just glamorous from the outside. They spend so much money on marketing to get fans, which is fantastic to see as a player. The fans love their cricket. So it’s fantastic to see that and how it’s been consistent over what’s been like 20 years (16) of it. So it is probably one of the best leagues.”
