Ian Smith thinks that Vivan Richards would have earned more money than Pat Cummins & Ben Stokes combined in the Indian Premier League.
Former New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Ian Smith believes that Vivan Richards would have made more money than Pat Cummins & Ben Stokes combined in the IPL. Smith was also speaking in an interaction conducted by the ICC as a part of their podcast series titled “Inside Out”. “I believe Vivan Richards would have made a go at cricket in any format in any decade. That’s why you should look at the strike rate which was superior to anyone else at that time, that is a T20 strike rate without even having that game in his mind,” Smith praised during the interaction.
“He would have been a complete legend in T20 cricket. He would have paid more money than they paid to Pat Cummins, Ben Stokes & all other guys put together to bring Viv Richards in their line-up because it would help to gather greater audience”, Smith added.
Stokes & Cummins are among the two highest-paid foreign players in the IPL. The Australian pacer Cummins was bought by KKR in a whopping 15.5 crore during the 2019 auction. Smith also added that Richards would have been a great crowd puller & television ratings would have been the highest if he had played the T20 format.
“He would have been definitely a crowd puller & television ratings would have gone through the roof if he had played the IPL. I will conclude it by saying that whenever you sit down & pick all-time World XI he is always in mind, I promise you”, Concluded Smith.
Vivan Richards is still one of the best batsmen in cricket till date. Vivan Richards has scored 8,540 runs in 121 test matches & 6,721 runs in the ODI format at an average of 47. He was a vital part of the West Indies World Cup Winning team in 1975 & 1979.
