'Pressure' And 'Expectations' From Tim David Due To His 'Price Tag', Says Shane Watson

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson believes there will be pressure and expectations from Singapore batter Tim David when he turns out for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022. On the second day of the IPL Mega Auction, there was fervent bidding for David, a globe-trotting T20 finisher.

Apart from Mumbai, Lucknow Super Giants, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings were in the reckoning to acquire David's services. Eventually, Mumbai, the five-time IPL champions, were successful in getting David on board for a whopping INR 8.25 crore. This will be David's second brush with IPL after being part of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2021.

"Definitely, with the high price tag, comes a lot of expectations and pressure from your franchise. It is not until you get into the game-time when you really know how to absorb that expectation that is there. I have seen a number of players who have had that expectation and they thrived under it -- Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are those sorts of guys," said Watson on the 'ICC Review' show video posted on Twitter.

"But there are a number of guys, you can see that the pressure of expectations suffocated their performance. It's a big challenge for players who have got big price tags. Someone like Tim David of Singapore plays in the Big Bash (BBL), the first time he has got the opportunity to play in the IPL and he will play for Mumbai Indians, so there will be pressure and expectations, especially with that price tag," added Watson, player of the match in 2018 IPL final.

David has been appearing for Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL since 2020 and from 2021, he has turned out for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), English county side Surrey in white-ball matches, Southern Brave in The Hundred, Saint Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). As of now David is playing for Multan Sultans in the 2022 PSL and is reportedly on the radar to be in Australia's squad for the white-ball matches against Pakistan.

Watson, who represented Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, further talked about the various points of playing in the league. "It (price tag) does provide different complexities and I experienced that throughout my IPL journey. But it is the exciting part about the IPL. The opportunity to play with people from a cricketing point of view with so many of the best players in the world and the whole experience of being in the IPL is the ul'imate. It's as good as it gets."