Despite admitting to having hopes of signing Windies T20 star Chris Gayle, New Zealand Super Smash Central Districts admits the star is likely to be outside of their price range.
The Stags had originally planned to secure the services of Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene, but missed out after the player scaled back his overall playing commitments. The 38-year-old Gayle was then added to the wish list, but without a commitment from sponsors, it is unlikely the player can be signed.
The big players typically command around $50,000 for a full season. The player is only likely to be available for the last four or five games and the playoffs, and was in the country already, potentially $20,000 could be a starting point. Even so, the amount would be significant for teams with mostly local talent.
“We generally don’t fund these acquisitions out of our budget and we try and secure funding from outside parties, and we haven’t been able to get a level of support required to bring anyone in yet. At this stage, we don’t have any [import] planned,” CD CEO Pete de Wet said.
“We wouldn’t just want to get a run of the mill player. We’d want a superstar and they don’t come cheap so we haven’t been able to get to that point yet.”
The Stags were close to signing Gayle in January 2013 for two New Plymouth matches after his Australian Big Bash commitments, but the deal fell through late. (Sportsmax)
