Archive photos of MS Dhoni (left) and James Anderson.© BCCI and AFP
England great James Anderson has expressed interest in participating in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 by signing up for the auction that will take place on November 23 and 24. The former England fast bowler, who retired from international cricket this year and took up a coaching role, has registered for the auction at a base price of Rs 1.25 crore. Talking about the pacer, South African great AB de Villiers drew a similarity between him and former Indian player MS Dhoni, who still plays in IPL for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
De Villiers believes that the base price Anderson has set for himself is a 'pay cut', something Dhoni has also taken ahead of the upcoming season. Notably, Dhoni's IPL salary was reduced from Rs 15 crore to Rs 12 crore ahead of IPL 2022. It got a further cut this year as CSK have now retained him for a price of Rs 4 crore.
“It almost makes me feel the same way about MS Dhoni that he decided to take a pay cut. Yes Jimmy, Rs 1.25 crores as base price which is not much for the status this guy has. Maybe he will go for just 1, 25 and still willing to go to India, leave his family for almost three months and maybe not even play a match and share a dressing room with some of the young Indian fast bowlers,” De Villiers said on his YouTube -channel.
“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 there is a lot of experience that can be shared with some young players. and only his appearance and the dressing room will give the bowling unit confidence. This man knows his game inside and out,” he added.
Anderson ended his international career as the most successful fast bowler in Test cricket with 704 wickets. But in a surprising move, the 42-year-old registered himself for the IPL 2025 auction.
“He is 42 years old and may not be able to perform as well on the park anymore, but he still knows exactly what it takes to win cricket matches with the ball in hand. What I think is that I hope someone will give him pure from an experience point of view almost like a bowling captain in the dressing room where he plays a lot of matches or not, it doesn't really matter,” De Villiers said.
Topics mentioned in this article
