Something shocking always happens at the IPL auction. Be it mistakenly buying a different player with the same name or paying someone a quarter of a billion, the event never disappoints. This time around, something shocking has already happened before. James Anderson has registered for the IPL 2025 mega auction. The Test GOAT thinks it’s the right time to enter franchise cricket at the age of 42.
Anderson in IPL, for the first time?
Having retired in July after playing international cricket for 22 years, Anderson doesn’t want to rest like most. Instead of becoming a coach or mentor, he wants to ply his trade as a fast bowler. According to ESPNcricinfo, Anderson has set a base price of Rs 1.25 crore for the IPL 2025 mega auction. The number is neither high nor that low, but it will all come down to how franchises view the red-ball legend’s T20 game.
Better late than never
As shocking as it sounds, it didn’t come out of nowhere. A month after retiring, Anderson had hinted that he might choose to experience franchise cricket. He might have started with his home league, The Hundred, but it had already started by the time Anderson made up his mind. He had to start somewhere, so why not at the biggest T20 tournament?
“I feel there is something there that I still want to play a little bit more. I watch the Hundred and see the ball swinging around in the first 20 balls, and I think, ‘I can do that; I can still do that’. I don’t know if that is a viable option, to maybe see if I could do a job in white-ball cricket. Franchise cricket is something I’ve never done,” Anderson had said in August.
The only question would be, will his skills match up in the IPL? Anderson last played a T20I in 2009, and his last 20-over game came in 2014. He decided to upskill his red-ball game during the last decade with age against him, but that means that he’s massively behind the curve in T20 cricket. He might be a proficient new ball bowler, as he himself said, but can he do it on flat tracks against the best batters?
James Anderson T20 stats
| Mat | Wkts | BBI | Avg | Econ | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 41 | 3/23 | 32.14 | 8.47 | 22.7 |
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