‘He’s a very sorted kid’ – Dinesh Karthik hails 21-year-old record-earner after Hundred Men’s auction

Former India wicketkeeper and London Spirit’s batting coach Dinesh Karthik has sung high praise for Sussex all-rounder James Coles after he became the most expensive buy in the Men’s Hundred auction. The 21-year-old was picked up by the London-based franchise for a whopping GBP 390,000, also making him the most expensive pick at the event.

Coles’ career has been on the ascendency for the past 12 months. Following an excellent summer with Sussex in the domestic circuit, the all-rounder jetted off to South Africa to represent Sunrisers Eastern Cape. He played just seven games in the tournament but managed to score 152 runs and take five wickets to earn two Player of the Match Awards, helping the Sunrisers win their third SA20 title in four seasons. 

Coles also had an excellent spell with the England Lions in their most recent tour to the UAE where they faced Pakistan Shaheens, taking 10 wickets in four games. 

The young all-rounder has started to justify his potential with good performances which impressed Karthik after The Hundred auction. Karthik formed part of the London Spirit contingent which was present in the auction room in London. The former wicketkeeper-batter believes that someone like Coles is completely ready to perform on the big stage. 

“We know the personality. He’s a very sorted kid, someone who doesn’t get too carried away or too frazzled. Yes, there is a high price, but at some point of time when you do well in life, you have to deal with it, and I think he is at a stage when he’s ready to deal with it. Everything will tell you that his graph is only going to go up,” Karthik was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

For the unversed, the London Spirit head coach Andy Flower has coached Coles before. The pair were together during the Abu Dhabi T10 last year, whereas Andy’s brother Grant Flower is the batting coach at Sussex. 

Coles joins an extremely talented London Spirit squad ahead of the Hundred Men’s 2026, including Liam Livingstone, Adam Zampa, Dewald Brevis and Jonny Bairstow, to name a few. The right-hander represented the Southern Brave last year, where he scored 124 runs and took five wickets. 

Meanwhile, another young English talent, Jordan Cox, was the second-highest earner at the auction after the Welsh Fire forked out GBP 300,000 for his services. 

Top 10 most expensive picks at The Hundred Men’s auction:

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us: