Wiese breaks out of the shadow of the superstars
The Titans' all-rounder David Wiese hit the jackpot the past week when he was purchased for a huge sum at the auction of the Indian Premier League tournament.
No one was more shocked than Titans’ all-rounder David Wiese himself when news broke that an Indian Premier League (IPL) team was willing to pay more than R5-million for his services.
“My reserve price at the auction was US$40 000 (about R460 000) and I just hoped one of the teams was willing to pay that price so that I would get the opportunity to go and play in the IPL,” Wiese told Rekord afterwards.
Challengers Bangalore snapped up Wiese for US$466 000 (about R5,4 million) earlier this week at an IPL auction — more than ten times the reserve price he had set.
Although the ultimate amount could be a pleasant shock for Wiese, few cricket experts will be surprised that there was great interest in his services at IPL teams. The 29-year-old all-rounder played great cricket for both the Titans and South Africa in the past two seasons, especially in the T20 format of the game.
Wiese‘s career is an example of the truth of the proverb ‘the one who perseveres will win’ and the wise way he managed his life and career also should be the blueprint for young players.
Success on the field has not come overnight for him, but because of his hard work and perseverance, David’s bread is now buttered on both sides.
After he played in the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week for Mpumalanga as a schoolboy from Witbank in 2003, he enrolled at the University of Pretoria as a BCom student. For several years cricket has played second fiddle in his life, while he focused on his studies.
By the time he completed his degree, however, he has already made his first-class debut in 2005 for the Easterns provincial team thanks to the help of his former school coach who engaged him at the union.
The rest is, as they say, history. In the 2007/2008 season, Wiese played for the Titans for the first time and never looked back. In those days the Titans team swarmed with superstars, but Wiese patiently used his chances and slowly began making a name for himself as a professional player.
In August last year, he made his international debut for the Proteas in the T20 format.
What’s next for David Wiese, now that he has literally and figuratively hit the jackpot?
“Well, next year is the T20 World Championships and I hope to make the Proteas team and get the chance to play in it. Then I also hope to soon get a chance to play for the Proteas in the one-day format of the game,” was his immediate reply.
Although he will get married in April this year, Wiese said he was not ready to settle down somewhere in an office to start his ‘other career’.
“I still have a few more cricket goals and I think I have at least 5 years of good cricket left in me.”
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