Some of Australia’s biggest cricket stars were expected to be bought for millions when the Indian Premier League auction was recently held.
However, no one expected Singapore born, Perth raised Tim David to be bought for the extraordinary amount of A$1.53 million by the Mumbai Indians.
It’s amazing to think David will earn more in six weeks than the highest paid players in the NRL and AFL make in a year. Incredible.
So, who exactly is Tim David and why is he worth so much?
David was born in Singapore and grew up in Perth. He has played in T20 tournaments around the world and currently plays for the Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League. During the upcoming English county summer, he will be playing for the Lancashire Lightning franchise.
In cricketing terms, David is known as a ‘T20 gun for hire’ and a ‘freelance Twenty20 cricketer’. He travels the world, stays in the best hotels, plays in front of big crowds and gets paid big money for a few weeks work.
Twenty20 cricket continues to rise in popularity and there is an increasing number of players around the world who fall into this category – think Chris Lynn, Luke Wright from England, South Africa’s Johan Botha and Andre Russell from the West Indies; all of which have spent time playing in the Australian Big Bash League.
25-year-old David spent last summer playing for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash and produced some big-hitting cameos, which clearly attracted interests from the big-spending IPL franchise’s.
In the IPL auction, David had five franchises fighting over his signature after he was put on the market for the modest price of $A75,000.
Last season David played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and only played one game. That didn’t phase Mumbai who made him their highest-ever overseas money earner and will be expecting him to play the finishing role in an innings.
“We’ve been tracking Tim and he has got success at RCB last year. Looking forward to seeing him and (Kieron) Pollard finishing innings for us,” said Mumbai’s owner Akash Ambani.
During the IPL auction, Australian stars Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, T20 captain Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and Big Bash star Ben McDermott didn’t land a single offer for their services.
The Aussies to have success in the auction included Josh Hazlewood going for $1.44 million to Royal Challengers Bangalore, Aussie Test captain Pat Cummins sold for $1.35 million to Kolkata Knight Riders, Mitch Marsh sold for $1.2 million, plus David Warner bought for $1.16 million, both were sold to the Delhi Capitals.
