Australian pacer Jhye Richardson is all set to impress when he takes the field for Punjab Kings in IPL 2021. He became the talk of the town after the IPL 2021 Auction when he fetched a sum of whopping INR 14 crores. Punjab Kings were desperate for the services of the right-arm quick and managed to see through several bidding wars before landing his signature.
Richardson talked about his reaction upon seeing the bidding war and acknowledged that it was a ‘life-changing’ moment for him. The speedster revealed the he was overwhelmed in the moment and was actually relieved to find out the news.
“It’s quite scary. It did not hit me straight away. I was actually watching the auction in New Zealand, it was quite late at night. It probably did not hit me straight away. It’s a funny one because you know that it’s gonna change your life. It’s life-changing.
“I was overwhelmed by the fact that this is going to change my life. For me, it wasn’t a jump up and down and get a really exciting moment, it just did not hit me straight away and even now it’s hard to comprehend how much it is and how much it’s gonna influence my future.” the 24-year-old said while talking to Sports Today.
Richardson did not shy away from talking about his hefty price tag. The world of cricket can be extremely uncertain and you never know what might go wrong. The Indian Premier League has financially secured the lives and careers of several cricketers over the years. Talented and promising cricketers often end up fetching mouth-watering prices which was also the case for Jhye Richardson this year.
The pacer expressed relief given the fact that he could have financial security once his cricket career ends. “That’s what we look like a cricketer, we have a front-end earning capacity and you know our career might live 5 or 10 years but to have something like this and have financial security post cricket is the biggest relief for me,” he said.
Richardson also admitted that the price tag comes along with increased pressure. His performances will be under intense scrutiny this season. However, he’s arriving to the Indian Premier League after a stellar BBL season. In 14 games, the pacer picked 27 wickets at an economy of 7.09 along with hammering 89 runs with the bat at an average of 22.25.
“Obviously, the added pressure and the expectation, all the challenges we expect in cricket anyway. For me now, it’s not to worry about the price tag, it to worry about my own execution and my won skills and show all of India what I am capable of,” he added.
