Mallya plans catiously for his second inning in cricket
"He's a superb addition to our team and I was very keen to purchase him. I got him for a price I was willing to pay. We needed to strengthen our batting. I would like him to play for all six weeks (of the League), if not this year then next year," said Mallya.
"We looked at the balance of the team after exchanging Zaheer Khan with Robin Uthappa. We have South Africans, Australians and team balance was important. I was keen to buy Kevin to give it the balance. We are delighted to buy him," he added.
Asked about the likelihood of Pietersen captaining the team, which was led by Rahul Dravid last year, Mallya said, "the option is open and it will be decided by the team management".
"He's an outstanding all-rounder. We targeted Flintoff to improve our balance," Srinivasan said and brushed aside queries how he felt now that he had bought the English player at a higher price than what he had paid last year for Dhoni who was bought for $1.5 million for three years.
"This is a different auction," Srinivasan said, adding that three or four other franchisees were also interested in buying Flintoff. Modi said there was aggressive bidding for Duminy whose stock has gone up following his superb display both in the Test and ODI series against Australia Down Under.
|
|
