Sports News:Amidst the preparations for the fifth season of South Africa's famous franchise T20 league SA20, young cricketer James Rolls emerged as the biggest talk of the player auction held on Wednesday. At the age of just 18, this player achieved such a bid, which caught the attention of the cricket world. Joburg Super Kings spent 2.9 million rand to include Rolls in their squad, which is reported to be worth around Rs 1.68 crore in Indian currency. As soon as Rolls' name was announced, the bidding process for him intensified and MI Cape Town also showed interest in acquiring him.
The competition continued between the two teams for some time, but ultimately MI Cape Town decided to withdraw from the bid. After this, Super Kings added the young all-rounder. This amount received at such a young age is an indication that the teams in franchise cricket are now eyeing not only the established names but also the potential stars of the future.
Super Kings and MI compete in Cape Town
As soon as James Rolls' name came on the auction table, the competition between Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town started. Both the franchises continuously increased the bid and within no time the price of the player reached quite high. After MI Cape Town withdrew, Super Kings made the final bid and included Rolls as part of their squad.
This auction was also special for Joburg Super Kings because the team had earlier bought former South African captain Faf du Plessis for Rs 1.57 crore. That is, the franchise has tried to strengthen its squad keeping in mind both experience and youth potential.
Who is 18 year old James Rolls?
Rolls is South Africa's young spin all-rounder and has shown glimpses of his potential in limited overs cricket at an early age. His performances at the Under-19 level caught the attention of franchises, which led to such aggressive bidding for him in the SA20 auction.
Rolls has played five matches so far in List-A cricket. In these matches, he has scored a total of 109 runs at an average of 21.80. He also has a half-century in his name, while he has taken three wickets in bowling. His stats are not very big right now, but considering his age and all-round ability, franchises see future potential in him.
All-round performance shown in T20 also
James Rolls has played only one T20 match so far, but he impressed with his performance in that too. In this match, he scored 45 runs with the bat and also took one wicket with the ball. That means he has the ability to contribute to the team not just in one department, but in both batting and bowling.
It is a big achievement for Rolls to earn crores of rupees at such a young age in a competitive tournament like SA20. Now the real challenge will be to live up to the expectations of the franchise. Joburg Super Kings will be hoping that the youngster can translate his talents into performances on the big stage in the coming season and prove to be a strong long-term option for the team.