Tim David will be on the World Cup radar with a good IPL performance: Matthew Wade

Tim David attracted the highest bid for an Australian in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction, with five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) securing his services for INR 8.25 crore, after fending off competition from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). His base price was set at INR 40 lakh.

Tim was part of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last season, as a replacement for Finn Allen and played just one game for the Virat Kohli-led side, but promises to play a bigger role for MI in the upcoming seasons.

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade believes that David could be on the radar for Australia's T20 World Cup squad if he puts up a good performance in the upcoming season of the IPL.

"If he puts a good IPL together and gets some runs in some cricket back here, I’m sure he'll be on the radar for the World Cup," Wade said of David, according to Cricket.com.au.

"I'm sure the (Australia) selectors will be speaking to him and keeping in touch. I'd love to see him get an opportunity and I'm sure he will down the track."

Wade also believes that he has rarely witnessed such hitting ability in Australia, likening him to the likes of Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard. 

"We don't have many guys in Australia that can do what he can do at the back-end of an innings," Wade said.

"He's just got power … like the West Indies players, that kind of power; the Pollards, the (Andre) Russells, those guys that can come out and mis-hit balls for sixes.

"I haven't seen that in Australian cricket for a long, long time.

"(Marcus) Stoinis is one of the other ones that we've got in Australia and I think Tim's right next to him. It's invaluable to go away and play those leagues. He's played a lot now.

After a lack of opportunities to play in Australia, David began his career with Singapore, for whom he has played 14 T20Is between July 2019 to March 2020. 

He was given an opportunity to come back to Australian cricket by Hobart Hurricanes head coach Adam Griffith. David failed to break into the Western Australia side or the Perth Scorchers side initially, which initially prompted the move away from the country. 

However, after returning in 2020, he has been a key figure for the Hurricanes in the Big Bash League (BBL). 

"I'd worked over there (in WA) for six years and I knew what he could do," Griffith told cricket.com.au. "We needed someone in that finishing type role and he was top of my list.

"The Scorchers have always been a very tough side to break into so for him it was just about opportunity. He's a laidback guy, no fuss, and when he's on, he hits the ball as hard as anyone in Australian cricket.

"What I like as well is he can hit the ball to different parts of the ground – he doesn’t just slog it over midwicket.

"It's got to be one of the hardest roles in the team – you might come in with two overs left and be expected to go from the first ball you face. It's about having that no-fear attitude, and he has that."

David has smashed 28 maximums in the last two BBL seasons for Hobart and his power-hitting has fetched him lucrative deals in Pakistan, the UK, the Caribbean and now in India.