'Felt like I played a game' - Jhye Richardson opens up on emotions he went through during IPL 2021 Auction

Australia fast-bowler Jhye Richardson has revealed he went through a range of emotions when his name was being auctioned in the IPL 2021 auction on Thursday (February 18). The 24-year old could not have asked for a better start to his IPL career as he bagged a multi-million dollar contract from Punjab Kings ahead of the upcoming season.

Punjab Kings secured his services for a whopping amount of Rs 14 crore. Richardson was the fourth costliest buy in the latest IPL auction. The likes of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals were also interested in Richardson’s signing. But in the end, Punjab Kings won the race by spending nearly 10 times his base price of Rs 1.5 crore.

Richardson earned his maiden IPL contract after a stunning outing in the last edition of the Big Bash League. His impressive display with the ball helped Perth Scorchers make it to the final where they lost to Sydney Sixers. Richardson finished the competition as the highest wicket-taker, claiming 29 wickets while conceding at an economy-rate of 7.69.

Jhye Richardson’s emotional rollercoaster ride:

Sharing his experience about the auction, Jhye Richardson revealed how he got nausea as soon as his name was called by the auctioneer as he had no idea about what to expect. The pacer had registered himself for the auction for the first time. Richardson further stated how every second felt like a lifetime for him as he was worried about his fate in the auction.

“My name came up, and I got this wave of (nausea) just not knowing what to expect. For the first, what to me felt like about 20 minutes, no one put their paddle up, and it’s one of those things where you’re just like, ‘Oh no’. You have no idea what’s going to happen. Then the first paddle went up, which was probably (only) like 10 seconds or five seconds (later), but it felt like a lifetime,” said Jhye Richardson as quoted by Sportskeeda.

Speaking further, Richardson added that the excitement of the auction left him exhausted. The Australia star said that the experience from the auction almost felt like he had played a game of cricket. The fast bowler also claimed the event was a life-changing affair.

“I feel like I played a game yesterday. I mentally exhausted myself from feeling all these emotions, of feeling sick and excited. The emotions just take over, and you forget you double-check (the price he was bought for), you triple check it, you quadruple check it. It took a moment, and it’s still sinking in at the moment. I think it’s an amazing result. It’s life-changing to be honest” Richardson added.