Interview with Virender Sehwag: "Ben Stokes will go for a higher price than Virat Kohli"

Virender Sehwag is a natural. Shooting for an IPL commercial at a Mumbai based film studio, apart from a few retakes, the former Indian opener breezes through the session. To ensure lethargy doesn’t set in, he makes sure to engage in conversation with the junior actors who clearly seem star struck.

Ahead of the IPL auction which will see an unprecedented 1122 players go under the hammer on January 27 and 28, Sehwag spoke to Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview, during which he was at his candid best. Here are the excerpts.

So, Mr. Sehwag, what are you shooting for here?

We are shooting for the IPL. The auction is one event which everyone looks forward to. Whether it’s a kid, a mother, a father, a politician, an actor, they all watch it with keen interest and want to know how many crores are spent on a player. Now the fans too will have extra interest, they can vote for their favorite players whom they want in their IPL team. Their choices will also be shown during the auction. Their engagement in extremely important.

Do you think any player will fetch more than Virat Kolhi’s Rs.17 crore price?

Yes absolutely, there are 2-3 players who can fetch more. In an auction, when a team wants a specific player and there are a couple of other teams too, a bid that starts for Rs. 2 crores can end up going till even Rs. 20 crores.

We saw last time, Mumbai Indians didn’t have the money to buy Ben Stokes so he went for Rs. 14 crores. This time, everyone has the money for Ben Stokes. So maybe, he can cross Virat Kohli’s number.

Will Kings XI Punjab bid big this season?

Yes, we are targeting big this year because our budget is bigger this year. We have around ₹58 crores to make a team. During previous IPL editions, we only had 38-40 crores to make a team, now we have Rs. 20 crores more.

Punjab fans are wondering: Why did you decide to retain Axar Patel despite so many international stars in the team?

I think an Indian player’s value is more in the IPL. When we recruited Axar Patel three years back, he was an uncapped player. He came to Punjab for ₹30 lacs and since then, has played for India. If he would have been part of the auction, he could have definitely fetched Rs. 8-10 crores. He is a useful player like Ravindra Jadeja. Axar is in his category.

He is a bowling all-rounder, which is necessary, and he can bowl 4 overs. He has batted extremely well in a few matches last season. He is a big hitter. For the past 2 years, we have been trying to improve his batting. Then, he can become the perfect all-rounder.

Were you surprised when your Delhi colleague Gautam Gambhir wasn’t retained by KKR?

I was not shocked, because every team has their own thinking. I was not shocked when Delhi Daredevils did not decide to retain me after having played there for the past 6 years. I too was part of the auction then.

I am not surprised. Many teams are parting with their old players because their price at the auction will be less, then maybe they might retain them. This could be their strategy of using RTM.

What will be the Kings XI strategy at the auctions?

I still have 3 RTMs remaining and I will make use of them. I think creating a team around 4 core players is a better strategy than creating a team solely around one single player.

Do you reckon Yuzvendra Chahal could be a dark horse at the auctions? He’s been in fine form recently:

I don’t know at what price he will go but RCB will definitely use RTM for him. If they don’t, then they will be stupid.

What about Gayle? Surprised that RCB didn’t retain him?

No. Gayle is now getting old. He is not the same Gayle that he once was. Last year, he played in the IPL and his performance wasn’t at that level that he was once renowned for. Teams take into account this factor when they enter the auction. Maybe RCB might go after Gayle again at the auction.

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