South African Twenty20 International all-rounder David Wiese appreciated the influence of fellow Royal Challengers Bangalore recruits AB de Villiers and Allan Donald, after landing a substantial contract ahead of the 2015 Indian Premier League on Monday.
Wiese was signed by Bangalore for approximately 5.4 million rand, joining a squad lined with the talented services of de Villiers, Australian pair Sean Abbott and Mitchell Starc and West Indian duo Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle.
Sammy and Wiese were team-mates during this year’s Ram Slam T20 Challenge. While the former has parted ways with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, April and May’s campaign will be the latter’s maiden IPL campaign.
‘To be honest, I don’t know how much influence Darren had on me signing with Bangalore. He was with the Hyderabad Sunrisers previously and then went back on auction. I’m pretty sure AB and even Allan, who are on the Bangalore playing and coaching staff, probably had more influence on the decision than Darren,’ the 29-year-old Wiese told SA Cricket magazine.
‘I had been available in previous IPL auctions, but I was never picked up. For me this is all still quite a shock now. What’s happening is all a bit unbelievable, but it’s the culmination of a lot of hard work. All those hours put in there, trying to get this, it has paid off.’
The hard-hitting right-hander fetched the highest price among the South Africans on auction, outdoing the approximate 2.6 million rand secured by Rajasthan Royals seamer Chris Morris – and the 600,000 each clinched by the Chennai Super Kings’ Kyle Abbott and the Delhi Daredevils’ Albie Morkel. Test skipper Hashim Amla, former limited-overs captain Johan Botha, all-rounder Wayne Parnell and left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe, surprisingly, went unsold.
‘It took me a little while to figure out what sort of numbers were going on, and the amount I had sold for, but then my agent helped me understand the magnitude of the contract. As far as I am aware, the deal is for one year. I haven’t been told anything differently, so I am presuming it is for one year,’ he concluded.
