Million-dollar David on Aussie World Cup radar

Australian cricket's new million-dollar man Tim David could loom as a potential World Cup bolter, believes T20I wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade.

David, a big-hitting 25-year-old who plies his trade with the Hobart Hurricanes but is without a state contract, was on Sunday bought for A$1.53 million by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League mega-auction.

It was the highest amount offered for any Australian on what has fast become cricket's most lucrative weekend, ahead of even World Cup winners Josh Hazlewood (A$1.44m), Pat Cummins (A$1.35m), Mitchell Marsh (A$1.2m) and David Warner (A$1.16m), who all earned seven-figure deals.

David's rise to IPL riches is a remarkable story.

The Western Australian who couldn't crack a place in the Perth Scorchers batting line-up – and had instead spent some time playing international cricket with Singapore, where he was born and spent the early years of his life – was thrown a lifeline by former 'Canes coach Adam Griffith ahead of BBL|10 in 2020.

"I'd worked over there (in WA) for six years and I knew what he could do," Griffith told cricket.com.au. "We needed someone in that finishing type role and he was top of my list.

"The Scorchers have always been a very tough side to break into so for him it was just about opportunity.

"He's a laidback guy, no fuss, and when he's on he hits the ball as hard as anyone in Australian cricket.

"What I like as well is he can hit the ball to different parts of the ground – he doesn’t just slog it over midwicket.

"It's got to be one of the hardest roles in the team – you might come in with two overs left and be expected to go from the first ball you face. It's about having that no-fear attitude, and he has that."

David has plundered 28 sixes in the past two campaigns with the Hurricanes, and it is his power hitting, which he developed under Ben Rohrer and Michael Di Venuto at the Hurricanes, that has earned him domestic T20 league contracts in Pakistan, the UK, the Caribbean and now India.

Wade believes it is a hitting ability he has rarely witnessed in Australia.

"We don't have many guys in Australia that can do what he can do at the back-end of an innings," he told cricket.com.au.

"He's just got power … like the West Indies players, that kind of power; the Pollards, the (Andre) Russells, those guys that can come out and mis-hit balls for sixes.

"I haven't seen that in Australian cricket for a long, long time.

"(Marcus) Stoinis is one of the other ones that we've got in Australia and I think Tim's right next to him.

"It's invaluable to go away and play those leagues. He's played a lot now.

"If he puts a good IPL together and gets some runs in some cricket back here, I’m sure he'll be on the radar for the World Cup.

"I'm sure the (Australia) selectors will be speaking to him and keeping in touch.

"I'd love to see him get an opportunity and I'm sure he will down the track."

Griffith believes his former charge, who also played a Marsh One-Day Cup match for Tasmania prior to this summer KFC Big Bash, might be forging what could well become an alternate route to national colours.

He did note however that Australia's T20I side will be a difficult one to crack in 2022.

"I think we're going to see players potentially taking different paths to the Australian set-up," he said. "It might not necessarily be about piling on the runs in state cricket anymore.

"He's got some good deals in a few different competitions and he's learning his game in varying conditions around the world, and these days that's another way to go about it.

"(Australia) have just won the World Cup, they've got Stoinis and Wade there, and they'll be defending their title, so it's a difficult side to break into.

"But who knows? For Tim now it's all about gaining experience in different situations.

"The more of that he gets, the better off he'll be."