South African legend AB de Villiers has expressed his view that England all-rounder Sam Curran has been receiving a salary higher than justified in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for several seasons now. Although AB de Villiers recognizes the potential Sam Curran has, the former batter highlighted that the all-rounder’s recent performances, both in the IPL and international cricket, have not lived up to expectations.
Curran fetched a significant price of ₹18.50 crore at the IPL 2023 auction, being acquired by Punjab Kings (PBKS). Despite a lackluster performance in the previous season, where he played 14 matches, scored 276 runs, and claimed 10 wickets, Punjab Kings have chosen to retain him for the upcoming edition. The all-rounder has been in poor form since his Player of the Tournament performance at the 2022 T20 WC.
It would have been a good move for PBKS to let go of Sam Curran- AB de Villiers
During a question and answer session on his YouTube channel, De Villiers was posed with the question of whether Punjab Kings (PBKS) would have made a wiser decision by releasing Sam Curran ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. Answering the question AB de Villiers said,
“I don’t like to be controversial. But, in my opinion, he’s been overpaid for quite a few years now. He’s not a bad player; I like him. He’s had a fantastic World Cup, but that’s quite a few years back. I don’t think he’s had a very good IPL recently. Also, for England, he hasn’t played exceptionally well,”
“He can turn things around like most world-class players can. Nothing against Sam Curran. I still think he’s a wonderful player. I just think he’s been overpaid for a few years. Maybe it would have been a good move for them to let him go to open up some funds to buy different players,” the 39-year-old continued.
In his IPL career spanning 46 matches, Sam Curran has accumulated 613 runs at a strike rate of 143.22. Additionally, he claimed 42 wickets at an average of 35.33, with an economy rate of 9.52.
Harshal Patel is a wonderful T20 cricketer and he is not overpaid- AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers, while expressing his doubts about the high salary for Sam Curran, held a differing opinion when it came to whether Harshal Patel is being overpaid. The question was raised after Punjab Kings(PBKS) acquired the pacers’ services for ₹11.75 crore at the mini-auction.
The ex-South African cricketer believes that Harshal Patel possesses the skills required to be a game-changer with the ball.
AB de Villiers said,
“Harshal Patel going for a pretty nifty ₹11.75 crore. I don’t think that’s being overpaid. He’s a fantastic player. He is a wonderful T20 cricketer. He can also hit the cricket ball. The slower ball that he bowls bamboozles a lot of batters,”
Furthermore, he expressed confidence in his former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate, backing him to perform well on flat decks in Dharamsala and Mohali.
“Absolutely. He’s a success on all wickets. He’s got an X-factor slower ball that flies above almost eye level and dips below very quickly. Almost like a Dwayne Bravo had back in the day. He’s also got a very fast bouncer and he’s not shy to use it,” AB de Villiers commented.
In his IPL career spanning 91 matches, Harshal Patel has been a consistent wicket-taker, claiming a total of 111 wickets at an impressive average of 24.07 and an economy rate of 8.59. Harshal was the spearhead of the RCB bowling attack picking up 65 wickets in just 43 matches in the last 3 seasons.