Exclusive: Connor Esterhuizen on Handling His R3.2 Million SA20 Price Tag

The Lions and Pretoria Capitals wicket-keeper batter, Connor Esterhuizen, maintains a steady head on his shoulders following a R3.2 million purchase at the SA20 Auction in September.

Remaining Humble

It is often very easy for a person to change from their natural character and stray into being someone unpleasant to be around once their bank account registers seven figures.

It extends beyond the sporting fields and into everyday society, where individuals begin to behave differently as soon as they become wealthy.

Regardless of age, money tends to change people.

In the case of a 23-year-old suddenly being showered with millions, one would expect them to be more susceptible to the aforementioned problem.

However, in the case of Lions and Pretoria Capitals wicket-keeper batter, the 23-year-old Connor Esterhuizen, money and success are merely a humbling reminder that he has finally arrived at a stage he used to dream of, playing the sport he loves for a living.

Esterhuizen was recently purchased for R3.2 million by the Pretoria Capitals at the SA20 auction ahead of the fourth season, one that is scheduled to get underway on Boxing Day this year.

In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za, Esterhuizen emphasised that he is grateful to have gone for such a massive amount at the auction and highlighted that the cheque did not change him.

“I wouldn’t say it’s changed things for me. I’m really privileged and grateful to be in a position like this where I do what I love for a living,” Esterhuizen told SportsBoom.co.za. 

“It is something I’ve wanted to do from when I was a toddler, and earn a good living and get picked up for that kind of money. I’m truly blessed.”

The Price Tag Pressure

With such a massive price tag, pressure naturally follows, as the franchise and fans around the world expect to receive the return on investment.

The SA20 is still two to three months away; however, the domestic season is well and truly underway. 

In Esterhuizen's first match of the season, Esterhuizen blasted 175 in a Four-Day match against Western Province at Newlands in Cape Town, helping his team secure an innings victory with a day to spare.

That knock showed glimpses of the kind of player Esterhuizen is and his ability to handle pressure, as the Pretoria Capitals would certainly be keeping tabs on him and the rest of the Pretoria Capitals' squad.

The 23-year-old told SportsBoom.co.za that he doesn’t feel pressure because of what transpired at the auction, but it is more the pressure from within that he felt going into the match at Newlands.

The right-handed batter had not been in the best of form in the long format of the game in the past two seasons, and it is that feat that has propelled him to go out there and prove to himself that he can dominate in the long format as well.

“I wouldn’t say there was more pressure on me because of the auction, rather because of my performances in red ball cricket over the past 2 seasons, that was more the pressure, to put in a big performance in the format I may not have performed up to my capability in,” said Esterhuizen.

“It is still a work in progress, and I’m constantly trying to figure it out and improve. Regardless of money or auctions, I always put pressure on myself to perform, because I have such high standards for myself and I know where I want to be and what I want to achieve.”

Esterhuizen joins the Pretoria Capitals from MI Cape Town, the current defending champions of the SA20.