We didn't have money to buy Chris Gayle: Kings XI Punjab co owner

Kings XI Punjab has begun this year’s IPL on a good note. The first part of the tournament has gone pretty well for them with five wins out of seven. The team already looks in the reckoning for the playoffs. Owner Ness Wadia expressed his delight over the same.

He was extremely pleased with Chris Gayle and his  performance. Wadia asserted how they didn’t have enough purse during the auction and were lucky to get him for ₹2 crores. He also instilled faith in Yuvraj Singh to comeback stronger. Further, he gave a description of going in the auctions with a long term approach.

We didn’t have the money to buy Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle has taken the IPL by storm with his sensational knocks. In just four innings, he has already registered a century and two fifties. Ness Wadia remarked how they had less purse available in auctions and if anyone would’ve bid for Gayle, they couldn’t afford to bid further.

“We had only ₹2.1 crore left and if we had bid for Chris earlier at the auction and another team came up with a counter bid, we did not have the money to buy him. Luckily, no other team bid for him and we were more than happy to get third time lucky,” Wadia was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Yuvraj is of good value to the franchise

Yuvraj Singh has been going through a lean patch in this year’s IPL. In fact, he was even dropped in yesterday’s clash against Sun Risers Hyderabad. Manoj Tiwary replaced him in the playing XI. However, Ness believed that Yuvraj was of good value to the franchise. He further showed faith in him to bounce back.

“Yuvi is not among the runs at the moment but we hope that he will bounce back. He is of good value to the franchise and that is why we got him back.”

Ashwin is a genius and knows what it takes to win

Emphasizing on building a team for a larger duration, the focus was on spending as much money to get the players they want. Further, Wadia called Ravichandran Ashwin a genius and counted upon his experience to win the title. He has been a part of the winning team twice for Chennai Super Kings.

“We wanted to build a team for the long term. We wanted to spend more money. We wanted an Indian captain and to be honest we wanted Ashwin at any cost. He is a genius and knows what it takes to win. Bringing an Indian captain also brings in a lot of flexibility.”

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