Did Ricky Ponting Deliberately Inflate Spencer Johnson's Price In IPL Auction 2024 Before Gujarat Titans Bought Him? Former Australian Captain Responds

Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals entered an intense bidding war for Australian pacer Spencer Johnson during the IPL 2024 auction. In the end, Spencer Johnson was bought for INR 10 crores by the 2022 champions, Gujarat Titans. Spencer Johnson is a left-arm pacer with an ability to swing the ball early on. The 28-year-old has represented Australia in an ODI match and two T20Is.

Spencer Johnson was on the radar of Gujarat Titans after they missed out on acquiring Mitchell Starc who went on to become the most expensive purchase in the history of IPL  getting 24.75 crores from KKR. Johnson impressed everyone with his performance in this year’s ‘The Hundred’ competition where he represented The Oval Invincibles. In a match against Manchester Originals in ‘The Hundred’ he bowled 19 dot balls out of 20 giving just one run and taking three wickets.

While commentating in the BBL, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting revealed that Spencer Johnson thanked him and said he owes him a couple of beers for increasing his price in the Auction. Spencer Johnson had a base price of INR 50 lacs and Gujarat Titans were on the way to acquire him for just 80 lacs when Delhi Capitals entered the bidding war and then left when Gujarat was finally ready to pay 10 crores for him.

Ricky Ponting said while commentating, “He actually came up to me pre-game and said ‘Thanks mate for last night, thanks for keep pushing me up’. He actually said ‘I think I owe a couple of beers’ and at some stage, I’ll take him up on that but I’m actually not that surprised. There are not a lot of guys like him you know. Guys at 6 foot 4, can bowl over 140 ks an hour, and he’s left-arm can swing the ball and he has actually done well in the T20 competitions.”

Watch- Ricky Ponting Praising Spencer Johnson After His 10 Cr Deal With Gujarat Titans

Spencer Johnson told Ricky Ponting he owes him a couple of beers for all the bids at the IPL auction ? pic.twitter.com/WOCqwwXDTE

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 21, 2023

Gujarat Titans got Spencer Johnson for 10 crores making him the sixth-most expensive purchase in this year’s Auction. Spencer Johnson will be pairing alongside the likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, and Joshua Little to form a formidable pace attack for the Ahmedabad-based franchise. The Titans also got Azmatullah Omarzai for just INR 50 lacs. Omarzai is an all-rounder from Afghanistan who impressed everyone in the World Cup 2023.

Spencer Johnson made his ODI debut for Australia against India at the Holkar stadium in Indore. He went wicketless in his debut ODI. He has a good record in T20 leagues and can be a valuable asset to the Gujarat Titans. They were lacking a left-arm pacer and they have now got Spencer Johnson who can swing the ball upfront and generates a lot of pace early on.

Gujarat Titans were the champions in the 2022 edition of the IPL. They finished as runners-up in 2023 where they were defeated by Chennai Super Kings in the finals in a rain-affected match in Ahmedabad.