IPL money is no measure of talent: Dada

Kolkata: A cricketer should not be judged on the basis of how much he fetches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament is based on "demand and supply", feels former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

Speaking at Cricket Year Book's 20th anniversary, Ganguly was asked about highly rated India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha going to Sunrisers Hyderabad for just Rs 5 crore while fellow stumper Dinesh Karthik was bought for Rs 7.4 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders.

"You cannot judge players based on IPL money. Hashim Amla (of South Africa) went unsold. He has 54 centuries. Delhi's Ishan Kishan has got 6.2 crores (Mumbai Indians) playing only Ranji Trophy. So the IPL is not a yardstick to judge any player's value.

"IPL is a different format and you have to look at it that way. IPL has no rationale, it is supply and demand. Jaydev Unadkat is the highest paid Indian player (in the 2018 auction). He has played two ODIs and no Tests," Ganguly said.

Unadkat became the most expensive domestic player at the IPL auction last Sunday when he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 11.5 crore. Coming to the six One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against South Africa, starting from Thursday in Durban, Ganguly said it's a 50-50 after India's fighting win in the third Test.