Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga priced themselves wrong in The Hundred draft: Shane Warne

The draft for the inaugural edition of The Hundred took place on October 20 and it wasn’t a happy one for Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga. Both the stalwarts were not picked with a base price at a maximum of 125,000 pounds. In the same price range, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith and David Warner got picked.

Starc and Smith went to the Welsh Fire even as the left-handed Warner was picked by Southern Brave. Along with Gayle and Malinga, even Kagiso Rabada, the 24-year-old South African fast bowler, ended up empty-handed. The players with the maximum base price had to be picked in the first round of the draft.

Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga have been superstars for so long

In the meantime, Shane Warne, the head coach of London Spirit, reckoned that Gayle and Malinga didn’t price themselves correctly. Had it been at 100,000 pounds, there was a chance of them getting picked. “I think they priced themselves wrong. If they’d gone in at £100,000 and not £125,000, I think they’d have been picked up,” Warne was quoted as saying in Cricket 365.

Darren Lehmann, the coach of the Northern Superchargers, admitted that it was a tough call to leave them out. “It was a tough one, they’ve been superstars for so long but then the next generation is knocking on the door…you’ve only got two picks at £125,000,” Lehmann said.

Ben Stokes, who edged out Joe Root, England’s Test captain, as the landmark pick of the Headingley-side, the Superchargers, believes that the tournament will do wonders to the domestic calendar. As per the all-rounder, every match will hold significance.

“Oh yes, 100 per cent. Every game will be a big game, with so many people watching and playing against the very best in the world. It makes you a better cricketer when you’re exposed to better players and I’m really looking forward to playing for the franchise,” Stokes mentioned.

Smith, the leading run-scorer in the 2019 Ashes, appeared via a video link from Sydney to opine on The Hundred. He also sounded excited about playing with the likes of Starc and Jonny Bairstow.

“It’s going to be exciting, the first ever 100-ball comp and I’m looking forward to joining Jonny Bairstow and Mitchell Starc at the tournament. It’s a bit different and it’ll be a learning curve for the first few games but it’s exciting.” Smith stated.

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