Most Expensive Flops In The History Of lPL
Mar 3, 2017 at 6:39 PM
Not all investments are good investments, sometimes they do fail as well. When a franchise splurge extravagant amounts to acquire talents, they expect those players to do well. But, unfortunately, not all of the players, who are bought for record-setting numbers, give good returns to investments. They fail badly to contribute substantially to the team. Sportzwiki takes a look back in time when players turned out to be huge flops and failed to justify their price tags.
Andrew Flintoff – Chennai Super Kings, 2009
Andrew Flintoff was one of the most prominent all-rounders in the world when Chennai Super Kings bought him for USD 1055 Million (9.66 crores approx.) in the 2009 auction. The hard-hitting seam bowling all-rounder, however, was ruled out of the tournament midway due to a knee injury. He could play 3 matches, taking two wickets and scoring 62 runs. While it cannot be said that it was his fault entirely, Flintoff was obviously not worth the amount of which he was bought at the IPL auction.
Dan Christian – Deccan Chargers, 2011-12
Australian all–rounder Dan Christian reaped huge rewards in the IPL 2011-12 for his excellent showing in the inaugural Big Bash League season. Although unknown in India, the Deccan Chargers paid USD 900,000 (Rs. 5.6 approx). He played with the franchise for two seasons but failed to replicate the sort of performances which convinced the team owners to bid such a high price for him. In 21 games that he played, Dan was able to muster only 335 runs and took 19 wickets.
Abhishek Nayar – Pune Warriors, 2013
Abhishek Nayar grabbed headlines in the 2013 auction when newly made franchise Pune Warriors picked the Mumbai all-rounder for ISD 675, 000 (4.75 approx.). Nayar was a useful middle order batsman and a part time seamer. His reputation in the domestic scene was pretty strong and earned him the faith of the team owners. However, his stint with the franchise did not translate into success as he ended the season, scoring just 66 runs in 9 innings and taking 2 wickets.
Saurabh Tiwary – Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2011
Saurabh Tiwary was in his prime form when the Royal Challengers won his bid during the 2011 IPL Auction. Tiwary played with immense success for his Mumbai Indians in the previous three seasons that prompted RCB to snap him. Tiwary proved a massive flop for the team. In the debut season, he could manage just 187 runs in 16 matches. His under par performances continued in the following seasons where he was able to get only 191 runs in 15 matches.
Yuvraj Singh – Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2015
Yuvraj Singh has always managed to get the attention of the franchise owners in the IPL auction regardless of the fact whether he is playing for the national side or not. He has set the record for the being the most expensive player in the IPL two times. The southpaw, who currently plays for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, was snapped by RCB for a whopping 14 crores in the 2014 IPL auction. That particular season was pretty satisfying for him. But, the all-rounder was not retained ahead of the 2015 IPL auction and went under the hammer once again only to break his previous record as Delhi Daredevils bought him for 16 crores. Unfortunately, he could not create a huge impact for the franchise and turned out to a flop as he culminated the season with just 248 runs in 14 matches at an average of 19.07.