South African batting sensation Tristan Stubbs triggered a bidding frenzy with Sunrisers Eastern Cape getting his services for a staggering 9.2 million rand (USD 500,000 plus) at the inaugural auction of the SA T20 league in Cape Town on Monday.
The six teams in the league are owned by IPL franchises -- MI Cape Town (Reliance), Pretoria Capitals (JSW), Paarl Royals (Royals Sports Group), Durban Super Giants (RPG-Sanjiv Goenka), Johannesburg Super Kings (India Cements), Sunrisers Eastern Cape (Sunrisers Hyderabad owner Kaviya Maran).
With a salary cap of R 34 million (USD 1.9 million approx, INR 15 crore) per team, robust bidding was witnessed with Stubbs, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, being the most sought-after.
Four franchises were involved in bidding war with MI Cape Town making the initial move followed by Paarl Royals. However, towards the end it was Johannesburg Super Kings and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who fought tooth and nail before the latter made a winning bid of R 9.2 million. "I am still shaking," was Stubbs' first reaction.