Legendary South African cricket team batter AB de Villiers said that England all-rounder Sam Curran has been 'overpaid for quite a few years now' in the Indian Premier League (IPL). During a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, de Villiers was asked about a player whom he thinks has been overpaid in the tournament and he mentioned the name of the England youngster. De Villiers explained that Curran is a 'wonderful player' but pointed out that he has not been exceptional for England or his IPL franchises.
“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,” de Villiers said.
“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,” he added.
The South African praised five-time champions Mumbai Indians for their smart buys in IPL 2024 Auction.
"Nuwan Thushara and Dilshan Madushanka - two fantastic players. Also, Mohammad Nabi and Shreyas Gopal two very good buys for their price. They can offer you a lot. I think they did pretty well. All the young bowlers will feed off Jasprit Bumrah. I absolutely love the look of Coetzee, Madushanka and Thushara," he added.
"I faced this guy (Gerlad Coetzee) about 6-7 years ago. I think he was 18 or 19 years old and he impressed me a lot. He had a lot of steam, a lot of presence. He was in my face in that game. He is going to the mighty Mumbai Indians only for Rs 5 crore. That's a lot of money, but if you compare it to some other players, this was a steal."