With the IPL just a couple of months away, fans are eagerly waiting for the eleventh edition of India’s biggest cricket carnival to begin.
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The mega auction took place a few weeks back, where all eight franchises bought a fresh set of players, and well-equipped themselves for the next three years.
But there were some price tags that raised quite a few eyebrows, as players went for amounts that far exceeded their perceived worth by fans all over the world. Here is our list of five overpaid Indian players this season.
Kedar Jadhav
The pint-sized Pune batsman established a great reputation for himself in domestic cricket, eventually earning him a chance at the national team.
Now a regular in the Indian side, Jadhav was bought for a huge Rs 7.8 crores by RCB, making him one of the highest paid Indian stars. His stats don’t back him up though, as Jadhav has never really performed in the IPL.
With an average of 23.50 at a strike rate of 135, Jadhav compares to other middle order batsmen in the league. Suryakumar Yadav, who has an average of 22 at a strike rate of 131, was bought for less than half the amount of Jadhav’s price tag.
Manish Pandey
Sold at Rs 11 crores, Manish Pandey earned a price tag that many feel he does not justify in the IPL auction. A two-time IPL champion with KKR, Pandey is remembered for being the first Indian to score an IPL century back in 2009, as well being the hero for KKR in the 2014 final.
Take those two innings out though, and Pandey’s stats begin to falter. An average of 28 and a strike rate of 120 is a decent return, but nothing to write home about. In comparison, Shaun Marsh, who has an average of 39 at a strike rate of 132 went unsold in the auction!
Pandey will be a good addition to the SRH side, but at Rs 11 crores, the Hyderabad franchise paid far more than what they should have.
Ravichandran Ashwin
The classy off-spinner was bought by KXIP for a whopping Rs 7.6 crores, surprising many people in the process.
No longer a regular in the Indian limited overs setup, Ashwin has had a good career in the IPL. With 100 wickets at an economy of 6.55, Ashwin looks like a sound investment.
But when you compare him with Harbhajan Singh, the other great finger spinner in IPL history, Ashwin’s record looks a little inferior. Bhajji has a total of 127 wickets to his name at a similar economy and average as compared to Ashwin.
With Bhajji going at Rs 2 crores, Ashwin should feel lucky with the money that he is being paid right now.
Dinesh Karthik
DK always gets a very high price in the auctions in spite of having a pretty average IPL record. In the shortest format of the game, wicket-keepers are expected to fulfill the role of a batsman, something that DK often fails to do.
An average of 25 and a strike rate of 125 are not impressive figures by any stretch, especially when you compare them to his fellow KKR player, Robin Uthappa.
Sold at Rs 7.4 crores, Karthik has once again got a big pay check. But with age no longer on his side, another poor performance in this season will see his stock drop quite rapidly.
Jaydev Unakdat
Sold to Rajasthan Royals at Rs 11.5 crores, Unadkat was the most expensive Indian player in the IPL auction.
Unadkat had a wonderful IPL 2017 with the Rising Pune Super Giants, as he picked up 24 wickets and was a driving force in Pune’s road to the final.
His impressive performances over the last year earned him another chance in the national team, which he grabbed with both hands in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
But his price tag is not a true reflection of his value, but rather it showed the desperation of other franchises to have an Indian seam bowler in their ranks.
