'I really did not expect it' - Duminy

JP Duminy, the South African batsman, has admitted his initial reaction to being bought for US$ 950,000, which is more than thrice his base price, was one of utter shock. Duminy, who was picked up by the Mumbai Indians after a fierce bout of bidding in Goa on Friday morning, said he did not know what to expect in the build-up to the auction.

"It is still difficult to believe. To be honest, my expectations were just to get a contract," he told reporters in South Africa. "The pressure is going to be there, after they paid that amount of money. But I back myself to perform under that pressure. I put myself under quite a lot of pressure to perform in Australia, especially in the one day series. I had an iffish one day series in England and wanted to show what I could do at this level."

Duminy made a mark on his Test debut in December, hitting an unbeaten half-century to help AB de Villiers take South Africa to a record win in Perth. The 24-year-old left-hander followed that up with a 166 in Melbourne to give his team the series. He also scored 78 and an unbeaten 69 in the two Twenty20 internationals that followed, and averaged 58.33 in South Africa's 4-1 ODI series win.

Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, has admitted that he is "absolutely over the moon" for his team's new middle-order star. Duminy "deserves every dollar" because of the hard work he has put into his game over the last year, Arthur said.

"JP is a three-in-one player who has the ability to score very quickly, is a brilliant fielder and a useful bowler," Arthur told Cricinfo. "He is also a level-headed and intelligent young cricketer. On top of that, he has just come off a great tour in Australia to put himself up on the shop window."

Arthur also attributed Duminy's price tag to the fact that South African cricketers would be available for almost the entire duration of this IPL, unlike players from England and Australia. "JP had been identified quite early by the South African team management as a player for the future," Arthur said. "We always had a plan for him, and that's why we took him into the team and kept him there. Now, he is getting the fruits of all the hard labour."

Arthur admitted that there was also an element of luck involved in Duminy's rise - he got to play against Australia only because Ashwell Prince got injured. "But he grabbed the opportunity with both hands," he said.

Interestingly, Arthur has also coached Tyron Henderson - the other South African surprise with a winning bid of US$ 600,000 - during his stint with the Warriors and said the allrounder would be a "valuable player for such a tournament".

"Henderson is an unbelievably good death bowler," Arthur said. "He is also a batter who likes to get on with the game. I would say he is an enforcer with the bat." Henderson, however, cannot play for South Africa as he has opted for a Kolpak contract with Middlesex, and Arthur said that the team has "moved on without him".

"Its like winning the lottery," was Henderson's initial reaction. "I was just astonished, considering my base price was $100 000."