Trent Boult elated after lucrative IPL deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad

Trent Boult

In yesterday’s auctions for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Trent Boult was snapped up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping Rs. 3.8 crore, a massive surge from his base price of Rs. 50 lakh. He was the fourth highest purchase in the auctions, with him sparking a bidding war among Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, but it was the Hyderabad-based franchise which had the last laugh.

The reason for the 25-year-old to be of such keen interest was quite simply his consistent performances for the national side over the last few months, the most recent one being against Scotland in Dunedin today, where he finished up as the Man of the Match for his economical spell of 2 for 21 from 6 overs, following on from his impressive home series against both Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

“It was a pretty unique experience, something I felt I had no control over,” Boult said. “I put my name into the auction a couple of months ago and then you just let it happen.”

When enquired about how his New Zealand teammates, with whom he was watching the IPL auctions on TV, felt about his inclusion in the IPL, Boult said: “The guys were pretty elated for me and it was pretty special to share it with a couple of mates because it really is a once in a lifetime thing but the focus is still on the Cricket World Cup.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand, who beat Sri Lanka on the opening day of the World Cup, overcame minnows Scotland by 3 wickets today after skittling them out for a paltry total of 142. Although the Kiwis would be pleased with the way they have started their campaign, with 4 points from 2 games, Boult acknowledged that a cluster of wickets during what should’ve been a comfortable run chase made the dressing room more jittery than they would’ve liked to be.

"It got a little bit scarier that we would have wanted it to," Boult said. "When I'm rushing around the changing room trying to chuck the pads on it means we might be in a little bit of trouble. But we got there in the end and got the points and got the job done."