BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has justified the whopping price for which Pat Cummins was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), saying it was because of the “high demand” for the leading Australian pacer that saw him bag a jackpot at the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

At the IPL auction which took place on Thursday evening, Cummins was bought by KKR for Rs15.5 crore, which made him the most expensive foreign bid ever in IPL history.

“No, I don’t think (Cummins’ price being too high). It has a lot to do with demand. Especially these small auctions bringing players in go after go. Ben Stokes became a part of this small auction and that’s why his value went off the roof of 14crore,” Ganguly said while speaking at the event My 11 Cricle, Play with Champions, on Friday.

Cummins had previously played for KKR in the 2014 season. He played just one match that year. In the last three years, Cummins has seen an upturn in fortune, becoming a mainstay in the Australian pace attack and is currently the no.1 ranked Test bowler.

In the IPL, Cummins was bought by the Delhi Daredevils in 2017 for Rs4.5 crores and he ended up taking 15 wickets. He was bought for Rs5.4 crores by the Mumbai Indians last season but was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

On Thursday, he surpassed Ben Stokes as the most expensive foreign buy in the history of the IPL auctions. Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiant for Rs14.5 crore.

“KKR on this hard, green pitch at Eden where there’s pace and bounce for the fast bowlers. I think there was a competition between Delhi Capitals and KKR till the last, and Delhi Capitals gave up after a certain point (Rs15 crore). So, I think it’s about supply and demand all the time,” he added.

The former KKR skipper also picked his fantasy team for next year’s IPL edition in which he included Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma among others. Also, surprisingly, he chose Rishabh Pant over M.S. Dhoni for the wicketkeeper’s place. “It is just for fun, don’t want a headline,” he said after picking Pant over Dhoni.

Ganguly XI: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Rishabh Pant, Andre Russell, Jasprit Bumrah, Riyan Parag, Marcus Stoinis, Jofra Archer, Ravindra Jadeja.