'You double check, triple check, quadruple check it,' Jhye Richardson on being bought by Punjab Kings for ₹14 crore

IPL 2021: Speaking to reporters, Richardson recalled how he checked the maths multiple times to see how much he has earned after he was sold to Punjab Kings.

Australia star bowler Jhye Richardson was one of the bowlers who earned the big bucks at the IPL Auction 2021. The seamer was the leading wicket-taker for Perth Scorchers in the recently-concluded Big Bash League tournament, picking up 29 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 16.31.

Australia's Jhye Richardson. (AP)

It came as a little surprise that Richardson was a player that saw huge bids from a lot of franchises at the auctions earlier this week. The 24-year-old attracted an early bid from Royal Challengers Bangalore, but Delhi Capitals also entered the fray soon after the first bid.

The two franchises went hammer and tongs after Richardson, but eventually Capitals bowed out, and it seemed RCB might get Richardson's services. But immediately, Punjab Kings started bidding for the pacer, and eventually bought the Aussie speedster for ₹14 crore - which is roughly 2.48 million Australian dollars.

Speaking to reporters, Richardson recalled how he checked the maths multiple times to see how much he has earned after he was sold to Punjab Kings.

“The emotions take over, you double-check it, triple check it, quadruple check it. It took a moment and it’s still sinking in,” Richardson told reporters, according to Fox Cricket.

“I was scribbling on papers, nervous hands and all that," he added.

Even though Richardson attracted a bid within 5 seconds of his name being called out, he said that those 5 seconds seemed liked 20 minutes to him.

“I was looking and I know my name came up and I got this wave of almost (being) nauseous not knowing what to expect,” he said.

“To me, what felt like about 20 minutes, no one put their paddle up and it was ‘oh no’. Then the first paddle went up, which was probably realistically 10 seconds or five seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. Then after that it kept going up," he said.

“I don’t know what was said, it’s almost a blank. After everything happened you are really excited and then you just hit this massive wall. I had all these messages coming through then crashed. I was exhausted," he further said.

“I feel like I played a game yesterday. I have mentally exhausted myself of so many emotions, really sick and excited. It’s still sinking in that’s for sure," Jhye Richardson signed off.