Cape Town — Tristan Stubbs is hoping to “put on a spectacle for everyone” after being the most expensive buy for a whopping R9.2-million at the inaugural SA20 auction on Monday.
Stubbs (22) was bought by his hometown team, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, after winning a bidding war with MI Cape Town.
The youngster’s base price was R175 000, and it quickly skyrocketed as the two coastal teams went head to head at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
Both MI Cape Town (Robin Peterson and Simon Katich) and Sunrisers EC (Baakier Abrahams) have coaches that have previously worked with Stubbs.
“It is crazy! I am still shaking,” Stubbs said about the price paid for his services. “It is just awesome to be a part of this tournament.
“I would have loved to play for anyone, so just being a part of it is quite awesome.
“I didn’t want to watch it, but I was forced to watch it,” Stubbs said of the bidding war at the SA20 auction.
“There is nothing better than playing in front of a full crowd, and hopefully we can put on a spectacle for everyone and the crowds will pull in. I am open to whatever the team needs.”
The former Grey High school prodigy burst onto the international scene this past year with a blistering 72 off just 28 balls, which included two fours and eight sixes, in the first T20 International against England at Bristol.
It was this performance that earned Stubbs selection to the Proteas T20 World Cup squad that will compete in Australia next month.
The youngster also recently played for the Manchester Originals that helped the Old Trafford side reach the final of England’s The Hundred competition at Lord’s.
It was during his stint with the Originals where Stubbs worked with MI Cape Town head coach Katich.
The former Australian international was gutted about not bringing Stubbs to the MI Cape Town team, especially as he is already part of the greater Mumbai Indians after playing for the five-time champions in the Indian Premier League last year.
“I have two sons at home, and I also feel like I have a third son here in South Africa in Tristan – that’s how much we enjoyed working together at The Hundred,” Katich told the media.
“But we knew other teams had a bigger budget. He is obviously with Mumbai in the IPL already, so there is that connection already.
“He is a special talent … that’s why we went so hard for him.”
The Sunrisers EC also brought another local talent back home with the purchase of Proteas all-rounder Marco Jansen for R6.1m.
Stubbs was excited to join up with his national and Warriors franchise teammate at their home ground.
“Very cool to be playing with ‘Plank’ … I mean Jansen. Playing at St George’s will be really cool,” Stubbs said.
Former Kolpak players Rilee Rossouw and Wayne Parnell, who are both part of the Proteas T20 World Cup squad, also fetched good prices at R6.9m and R5.6m respectively.
Proteas T20 World Cup captain Temba Bavuma, who had a base price of R850 000, went unsold, along with all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo.
SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith remained upbeat about the high demand for local players, though, in comparison to the overseas players.
“It’s never a nice feeling to go unsold, and they will come back in towards the back-end,” Smith said.
“But when you are setting up this league, the focus will always be on the South African players, and you want to see that investment.”
* Follow @ZaahierAdams on Twitter for live coverage of the SA20 auction
IOL Sport