MiD DAY catches up with Jean Paul Duminy's father to find out what an interesting character Mumbai Indians have in their ranks
MiD DAY catches up with Jean Paul Duminy's father to find out what an interesting character Mumbai Indians have in their ranks
Jean Paul Duminy has celebrated 24 birthdays before April 14, 2009. However, the last one was ushered in with extra zing. And why not? The last 12 months have given him many memorable moments.
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Jean Paul Duminy was one of the most sought after players during the second IPL auction earlier this year. PIC/AFP |
It's a year in which there have been so many miracles that he has to pinch himself to believe it. One of them being the price he fetched at the Indian Premier League auction a whopping USD 950,000 shelled out by Mumbai Indians.
In fact, when the self-effacing player was asked to decide his base price by the IPL officials, he put it down to 100,000 dollars. His dad, John Duminy, had a tough time convincing him that he was worth at least a couple of hundred thousand dollars more.u00a0
"He did not realise that he is worth so much money. He was playing in Australia when we had to do his base value (players have to set their own base value). We discussed it over the phone and he said he is more comfortable with 100,000 to 150,000 dollars. I said, 'no, you are worth more than that. You have scored in Australia, you have made such a big impression and I am sure you are very popular now... like Sachin Tendulkar'. I always use Tendulkar's name. 'You are hot property now. Your base value must be more'. He said, 'don't make it high'. I told him we are going to make it around 300,000. He pleaded, 'Dad keep it low please'," John told MiD DAY.u00a0 What followed at the auction was even way above his father's wildest dreams.
Overwhelmed
"When the auction happened, we were overwhelmed, because I too did not expect this amount. I thought it would be around 500-600,000.u00a0 But 950,000 is a lot of money," John revealed.
Duminy made his international debut in 2004, but hit the headlines on his Test debut last December with an unbeaten half-century to help South Africa beat Australia in Perth. In the next Test at Melbourne, he hit a stunning 166 to help South Africa clinch a historic series win.
Naturally, his birthday last Tuesday was extra special. "It was a very private family affair. He called us to Johannesburg where he was playing the one-day series against Australia,"u00a0 John said.
For John, the biggest thrill for his son being with the Mumbai Indians is to be able to play with Tendulkar. "His dream was realised on Saturday when he got to bat with the great man for some time. He is one of his heroes.
You could see when he walked to the pitch he was smiling because Tendulkar was walking towards him to meet him.
"In fact, I met him before the game and he just talks about Tendulkar. He says he hopes he can learn from him."
The only dampener of the day was that Duminy could not show his new teammates all his strokes as he got out cheaply. John put the failure down to fatigue and assured his team owners that his son would prove his worth.
"He did not get big runs because he was a tired man. He just arrived in the morning after playing the one-dayer against Australia the previous evening. He should have had a day's break in between," said John.
