We were willing to pay ₹ 15 crores for Ben Stokes : RPSG owner Sanjiv Goenka
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Rising Pune Supergiants chairman Sanjiv Goenka has claimed that they were willing to go as high as ₹ 15 crores to secure the services of Ben Stokes for the upcoming IPL season. Goenka also said that the team were satisfied with the auction results despite missing out on Aussie Pat Cummins.
It wasn't just Stokes who made it into the Pune team for the tenth edition of the IPL with players such as Daniel Christian, Manoj Tiwary, and Lockie Ferguson also making the cut. It also wasn't just the Stokes acquisition that put Pune in the limelight. A day before the auction, Pune had relieved MS Dhoni of the captaincy duties and handed them over to Aussie Steve Smith.
"The announcement regarding the change in captaincy had been scheduled for Sunday, so it was done. It's not that we were looking to make the headlines. As for the auction proper, I'd been very confident about getting Ben Stokes. We were lacking a genuine fast bowler-all-rounder and, for us, he was the man to get," Goenka told Telegraph India in an exclusive interview.
"I'd been willing to spend Rs 15 crore, so Stokes came within our budget. Therefore, I have every reason to be happy. I'd expected Daniel Christian to go for much more than his base price of Rs 1 crore, but we got him for just that. So, it was a nice surprise.
"Look at quick Tymal Mills, Stokes's compatriot. His base price was Rs 50 lakh, but he went to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for as much as Rs 12 crore. It's tough to predict an auction."
The sentiment element was certainly there, but Stephen Fleming wanted Tiwary.
Goenka said that the team
"Well, all except Pat Cummins (who went to Delhi DareDevils for Rs 4.5 crore). Smith definitely wanted Stokes, but so did I. I'm delighted the auction went according to our plans and we got all our first-choice players," Goenka added.
"The sentiment element was certainly there, but more than that, Flem (coach Stephen Fleming) wanted Tiwary."
The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group chairman added that he expected the team to do well because of the mix of local and international players in the squad. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ajinkya Rahane form the main core of domestic players while Smith, Faf du Plessis, Stokes, Usman Khawaja, Mitch Marsh and Adam Zampa would vie for the four foreign spots in the team.
"We certainly have a better and more athletic team. Captain Smith has enough flexibility with match-winners. We've been blessed with quite a few of them, now it's about delivering," Goenka added.
Pune will start their second campaign in the Maharashtra derby against Mumbai Indians on April 6.
