Young English uncapped talent James Coles became the most expensive player in the inaugural Men’s Hundred auction after being purchased for a whopping GBP 390,000 by London Spirit. The 21-year-old allrounder from Sussex was widely expected to be a hot commodity at the auction after a breakthrough winter, both for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 and England Lions. Nonetheless, it was remarkable to see the purse strings getting totally lose on a player who earned £31,000 at Southern Brave last year, with London Spirit prevailing in an intense five-pronged bidding war.
With valuable picks like Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone and Rehan Ahmed all pre-signed ahead of the auction, Coles was the standout domestic talent available in his role as a spin-bowling genuine allrounder, who can bat in the top four.
“We know the personality,” Dinesh Karthik, Spirit’s batting coach, said as per ESPNCricinfo. “He’s a very sorted kid, someone who doesn’t get too carried away or too frazzled. Yes, there is a high price, but at some point of time when you do well in life, you have to deal with it, and I think he is at a stage when he’s ready to deal with it… Everything will tell you that his graph is only going to go up.”
