Comparison between James Anderson's IPL auction registration and MS Dhoni's retention by AB de Villiers prompts a chuckle

James Anderson's decision to enter the IPL 2025 mega auction caught many in the cricketing world off guard, including AB de Villiers who couldn't help but chuckle at the unexpected move. Despite the surprise, the RCB legend believes that Anderson's presence in the league could be a valuable asset for young players. His experience and expertise could prove to be a game changer for any team that decides to pick him up in the upcoming mega auction in Riyadh.

The English pace legend has registered his name with a base price of INR 1.25 crore in an attempt to get a chance to play in the Indian Premier League. He has never played in the cash-rich league, but now, after retiring from Test cricket, he is ready to give it a shot to franchise league tournaments.

De Villiers admitted that the best seam bowlers have struggled in the past on the flat tracks in IPL, but he is excited about what Anderson brings to the table if he gets picked by a team.

"Don't fall off your chair please. Stay calm, take a few deep breaths like the South African battng unit was supposed to do the other night. Deep breaths, Jimmy Anderson might be going to the IPL. Look, I'm childishly excited about that; I don't know how good he will be. He is 42 years old; going to the flat wickets over in India, there are some of the best seam bowlers and T20 bowlers in the world that struggle over there. I think of some incredible players that have gone to RCB in the past that have really had a tough time to adapt to find a way to to restrict the batters. Look, you never know," De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

The Proteas legend suggested that it would be great for any franchise to have a player of Anderson's calibre sitting in their camp, engaging with the young players and sharing their experience with them.

"What I think is I hope someone picks him up purely from an experienced point of view almost having like a bowling captain in the change room where he players a lot of games or not, it doesn't really matter. It's fantastic that this guy is keen to go over to India for a few months of the year and share his experiences with some of the younger Indian players and other overseas players from around the world," he added,

Anderson retired from Test cricket after 188 matches for England earlier this year, taking 704 wickets to finish as the third-highest wicket-taker ever, behind Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's spin wizard Shane Warne (708).

The Proteas legend compared Anderson's registration for auction to MS Dhoni's getting a pay cut to be retained as an uncapped player for IPL 2025.

"It almost gives me a same kind of feeling with MS Dhoni that he decided to take a pay cut. Yes Jimmy, ₹1.25 crores as a base price, which is not a lot for the status as this guy has got. Maybe he will go for only 1.25 and still be prepared to go to India, leave his family for almost three months and maybe not even play a game and share a dressing room with some of the young Indian fast bowlers. I think it's fantastic and I was one of the franchise owners and I could get Jimmy for INR 2-3 crores. I would take him purely because I believe that there's a lot of experience that can be shared with some of the young players, and just his aura and the dressing room will keep the bowling unit confident. This guy knows his game inside out," he added.

Talking further about Anderson, De Villiers asserted that the English pace legend very well knows how to win cricket gameswith the ball in hand.

"He is 42 years old and might not be able to execute as well on the park anymore, but he still knows exactly what's required to win games of cricket with the ball in hand. So, Jimmy well done for putting your name and we all were surprised so don't take offence, I had a little chuckle when I saw this. But then I thought, you know what it's actually fantastic and it would be awesome to see him in the IPL, even if it's just for his experience and sharing a dressing room with some of the youngsters," he concluded.