Boult stunned by $1m tag
Trent Boult is eyeing a new pair of jeans after being sold for more than $1million at the Indian Premier League auction on Monday night (NZ time).
The Black Caps’ left-arm swing bowler was still pinching himself at training on Tuesday, having been bought for $1.04m by the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Boult was the third equal most expensive player snapped up in the IPL auction, with Christchurch-born English allrounder Ben Stokes, going top for a whopping $3.01m to Stephen Fleming’s Rising Pune Supergiants.
He followed updates on Twitter with several New Zealand teammates in Christchurch ahead of the second ODI against South Africa at Hagley Oval on Wednesday.
When he ticked over the $1m mark, he said there was a sense of disbelief. As far as a first purchase goes, ‘‘a new pair of jeans’’ was high on his shopping list.
It was Boult’s coffee shout on Monday night with fellow paceman Tim Southee quick to get an order in.
‘‘It’s a lot of money. It’s bizarre how that much money can be put on the head of a player to play for six or seven weeks. It’s a huge honour,’’ Boult said.
It was the second-highest price paid for a New Zealand player in the IPL. Former Black Caps’ skipper Brendon McCullum got $1.56m in 2015, when drafted by the team now known as the Gujarat Lions. Ross Taylor went for $950,000 in 2011.
Boult’s million dollar price tag doesn’t necessarily indicate what his salary will be. Players are paid pro-rata based on how many games they are available for.
‘‘I think I need to earn that definitely. If you go there and you don’t play a game, you can easily miss out on a fair chunk of it.
‘‘I’m not going there just for the money. The experience of getting there in front of thousands of people and a lot of Indian fans is the most exciting part.’’
Boult has been in strong form for the Black Caps, snaring careerbest figures of 6-33 to lift New Zealand to a 2-0 Chappell-Hadlee whitewash of Australia a fortnight ago.
His reserve price was $312,000. He didn’t have any inkling he would draw such substantial money from the Knight Riders.
In 2015, he was bought for $800,000 by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
He played seven matches for the Sunrisers that season, but battled for opportunities in the 2016 season, featuring just once.
Going for over $1m naturally meant plenty would be expected of Boult when the IPL starts in early April.
He was excited to be ‘‘rubbing shoulders’’ with team-mates like Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, big-hitting Australian Chris Lynn, West Indies offspinner Sunil Narine and Indian paceman Umesh Yadav, while also developing his game in sub-continent conditions. Boult’s IPL payday completes a dramatic rise for a bowler, who was viewed as red ball specialist early in his career.
He only played a handful of ODIs for New Zealand leading into the 2015 World Cup, where he went on to star, taking 22 wickets, joint top for the tournament with Australia’s Mitchell Starc.
‘‘It feels incredible. Building up to that World Cup, I wouldn’t have put myself in the bracket of being the top five or six white ball bowlers in the country. ‘‘From there, the game has grown and I’ve gotten a lot more confidence with the ball. Now things like this is knocking at the door.’’