IPL 2021 auction will take place on 18th Feb at Chennai.
Former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir feels that the lanky New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson is a potential superstar and could be the next Andre Russell in the making.
Ever since Kyle Jamieson made his debut for New Zeland the lanky all-rounder has grabbed attention with both the bat and ball for his outstanding performances.
However, with just 292 players going under the hammer in the 2021 edition of the IPL auction, Kiwi all-rounder Kyle Jamieson is also among the 292 players who will feature in the auction on 18th February and has kept his base price at Rs 75 lakh.
Previewing the IPL 2021 auction, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir backed Kyle Jamieson to be a superstar and said that Jamieson could be the next Andre Russell in making.
"Kyle Jamieson is not a big name at the moment, but he will turn out to be a superstar. This is probably the right auction for all franchises to get a hold of him.
"And because he is someone whom you can keep for a longer period of time. He is seven feet, he is that tall. He can bowl 140 and can hit the ball long. He probably could be the next Andre Russell in the making," Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports.
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Gambhir further admitted that Jamieson is not a finished product and said that franchises like KXIP and SRH who are looking for all-rounder can think of buying Jamieson, who is a great asset and going to get better only.
"Yes, he's not a finished product and everyone knows about it but is someone who is probably young and you can have that core built around him. A franchise like Kings XI (Punjab Kings) who are looking for that all-rounder or some other franchise, can think of someone like Jamieson.
“Even Sunrisers, because he is someone who can bowl with the new ball, and can bat at No. 6 and 7 and can hit the long ball against spin and fast bowling. He's a great asset and he's going to get better from here,” he said.
Gambhir believes that Jamieson will be a brilliant investment for any team. According to him, modern-day big-hitters like Russell and Morris have reached their prime while Jamieson is just getting started and will only improve from here on.
"It's not as if he's reached his peak. There are players like Russell and Morris, who have already reached their peak. They can't get better than this. But with Jamieson, there will always be this thing where he'll keep improving.
This is his first experience in India, he'll only start getting better from here on. So it will be a great addition if someone can pick him and keep him for a long time," he concluded.
Kyle Jamieson has represented New Zealand in 6 Tests, 2 ODIs and 4 T20Is.
(Starsports inputs)