IPL 2021: Ricky Ponting 'not sure' how Delhi got Steve Smith 'so cheap' in mini-auction

Delhi head coach Ricky Ponting has said it was “quite remarkable” to get Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith for "so cheap" in the mini-auction this year. Smith, who was released by his previous franchise Rajasthan before the auction, was purchased by Delhi for Rs. 2.2 crore, which is a massive drop from his earlier price tag of AUD 2.2 million (Rs12.4 crore). Ponting, while speaking to Cricket Australia, said they did not even discuss Steve Smith much prior to the auction because they were expecting other teams to outbid them, adding “it’s quite remarkable how it turned out”.  

“I'm not really sure how we got him so cheap. It was quite clear that a lot of other teams had more money than us going into the auction. A lot of other teams released more players, so they got a lot of their salary cap back. So going into the auction, we hadn't really spoken a lot about Smithy. His name did come up in some of the strategy stuff, but … we just thought 'we're getting outbid', simple as that. So we hadn't put that much time into it. It was actually quite remarkable how it turned out because that sort of class doesn't come around all the time and that sort of experience doesn't come around all the time,” Ponting said while speaking to cricket.com.au. 

Only two teams were in the race to buy Steve Smith in the mini-auction - Delhi and Bangalore. However, the Kangaroo eventually went to Delhi after the Bengaluru side pulled out, offering just one bid. It was later revealed that Bengaluru deliberately bid for Steve Smith and then pulled out as part of a strategy to empty the pockets of other franchises so they could spend big money on players they wanted to get in the later stages of the auction, such as Glenn Maxwell and Kyle Jamieson. 

'Smith is raging to go out and perform' 

However, it is still not clear whether Smith will get an opportunity to play for Delhi, provided only four international players can be included in the playing XI, and three spots have already been blocked by some key performers from the previous season, including Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and Protea pacers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Ponting has indicated that if Smith plays for Delhi this year he will get to take the number 3 position, where, most often than not, batsmen get to play the role of an anchor. Ponting further added that Smith will be raring to go out and perform as there is a T20 World Cup in India this year and a mega auction next year.

(Image Credit: AP)