IPL auction recap: Do the big bucks always produce big performances? Not really | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The ‘King’ of the T20 leagues Indian Premier League (IPL) is less than two months away from its 15th edition. And before it embarks on that journey, it is all set to change the fortunes of multiple players across the globe as the gavel comes down in the upcoming IPL 2022 auction to sell the hot picks.
The next edition of the IPL player auction is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13 with 590 players set to go under the hammer – out of this 370 are Indian players and 220 are overseas players.
All the 10 franchises, including the two new entrants Lucknow and Ahmedabad, will battle it out to buy the best of the talents on offer in intense bidding wars. They are ready to shell out mind boggling amounts of money, as is usually the case, to snatch the best of the best in the high-octane dramatical setup that is an IPL auction.
But the big bucks don’t always translate into big performances. Over the years, a number of the hot picks at the IPL player auction have not done anything to set the stage on fire. In fact, most of the players who have commanded the biggest price tags at the auction have been disappointing on the field, while there have been some exceptions.
So before the IPL 2022 auction makes new record-breaking millionaires in the cricketing world, let us roll back the years and take a look at the most expensive price tags commanded by Indian and foreign players in the history of the IPL auction over the years and how those players did in those seasons for their respective franchises.
5 MOST EXPENSIVE PRICE TAGS FOR INDIAN PLAYERS SO FAR

1. Yuvraj Singh – Rs 16 crore – Bought by Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) – (2015)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
The Delhi franchise shelled out a massive Rs 16 crore to secure the services of Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh at the 2015 IPL auctions. Delhi were locked in a bidding war with Yuvraj’s former franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before sealing the deal. RCB had bought Yuvraj for 14 crore the season before that, but then released him before the next auction.
Yuvraj, who broke his own record set in the 2014 auction, thus became the most expensive buy for the second successive year in the history of the IPL auction.
Yuvraj was not in the reckoning for the Indian team at that time but Delhi still kept faith in him. However, it turned out to be a below-par season for the southpaw as he averaged just 19.07 with just two fifties, scoring 248 runs in 13 innings. He took only one wicket in the nine overs he bowled in the entire tournament. Yuvraj was released by the franchise before the next season.

2. Yuvraj Singh – Rs 14 crore – Bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (2014)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
RCB broke the bank for the star all-rounder Yuvraj as he was bought for a whopping Rs 14 crore in 2014. The Punjab lad hit the jackpot despite not being in the best of form then. RCB battled with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who entered the bidding war late in the auction, but the Bangalore-based franchise finally clinched the deal.
Yuvraj finished that season as the second-highest run-getter for RCB with 376 runs from 14 matches at an average of 34.18. The left-arm spinner took 5 wickets in 22.4 overs he bowled at an average of 37.40 and an economy rate of 8.25. He was later released by the franchise before the next season.

3. Dinesh Karthik – Rs 12.50 crore – Bought by Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) – (2014)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
Karthik, who started his IPL career with Delhi and represented them in the first three seasons, was bought again by the franchise for a whooping sum of Rs 12.5 crore in the 2014 IPL auction.
The Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman had a good season for Mumbai Indians in 2013 but the franchise neither retained him nor used the Right To Match card for him in the 2014 auction.
However, Karthik had a mediocre season with Delhi in 2014, as he averaged just 23.21 with just three fifties scoring 325 runs from 14 innings at a strike rate of 125.96.

4. Jaydev Unadkat – 11.50 crore – Bought by Rajasthan Royals (2018)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
The most shocking buy of the season in 2018. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) started the fierce bidding war and it went till Rs 11 crore before Rajasthan made their way into the bidding war and stole the deal at Rs 11.5 crore making Unadkat the most expensive buy of that auction.
The left-arm pacer took a hat-trick and was impressive with his death bowling for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. Rajasthan broke the bank to snatch the Saurashtra pacer, at nearly seven times his base price.
Unadkat, however, had a poor season as he picked up just 11 wickets at an average of 44.18 and conceded runs at 9.65 per over in 15 matches.

5. Gautam Gambhir — Rs 11.04 crore – Bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (2011)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
Gambhir was bought for a mind-boggling 11.04 crore by the Kolkata franchise which was 12 times his base price at the 2011 auction, making him the most expensive player in the IPL at that time.
Gambhir had a decent outing as he scored 378 runs from 15 innings at an average of 34.36. Gambhir, who led Delhi before, was later made the captain of the franchise and then he went on to lead KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.

5 MOST EXPENSIVE PRICE TAGS FOR FOREIGN PLAYERS SO FAR

1. Chris Morris – Rs 16.25 crore – Rajasthan Royals (2021)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
Rajasthan broke all the records set at the IPL auction till date as they bid a phenomenal Rs 16.25 crore for Chris Morris in the last player auction in 2021, making him the most expensive player to be sold in the IPL auction ever, going past the 16 Crore mark for Yuvraj Singh in 2015.
The moment Morris’ name came up for the auction, it triggered a huge bidding war among four franchises. Mumbai, Bangalore, Punjab and Rajasthan. All four franchises were desperate to buy the South African all-rounder. Rajasthan and Punjab were the last two teams standing in the bidding war, before the former sealed the deal.
Morris, however, had a mixed season for Rajasthan. He came up with a few good performances, but overall he averaged just 13.40 with the bat. He was decent with the ball as he picked up 15 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 25.06 and economy rate of 9.17.

2. Pat Cummins – Rs 15.50 crore – Bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (2020)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
Cummins became the most expensive foreign buy of all time till then, at the 2020 IPL auction when Kolkata bought the Australian paceman for a whopping sum of Rs 15.50 crore. Morris dethroned him in the following season when he was bought for Rs 16.25 crore by Rajasthan.
It was not an easy pick for Kolkata as they had to fight a lot to get hold of Cummins. It started with a bidding war between Bangalore and Delhi but eventually KKR snatched him.
Cummins did not have the best of seasons with the team however. In the 14 matches he played in that season, he took 12 wickets in total at an average of 34.08 and an economy rate of 7.86.
The Kolkata franchise chose to retain Cummins for the 2021 season as well where he picked up 9 wickets from 7 matches at an average 26.33 and an economy rate of 8.83 before he was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.

3. Kyle Jamieson – Rs 15 crore – Bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (2021)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
Bangalore came out all guns blazing for the New Zealand pacer as they bought him for Rs 15 crore at the 2021 auction.
Bangalore and Delhi were locked in a bidding war for Jamieson before Punjab joined the battle. Eventually after a fierce bidding war between Bangalore and Punjab, the gavel came down at Rs 15 crore sealing the deal in favour of RCB.
Jamieson had a below par season, taking 9 wickets in nine matches at an average of 29.88, giving away runs at an economy rate of 9.60. He wasn’t retained ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.

4. Ben Stokes – Rs 14.50 crore – Bought by Rising Pune Supergiant (2017)

Holder of the record of being the highest-paid foreigner in the IPL, before being dethroned by Cummins in 2020, Stokes was bought by the now-defunct franchise, Rising Pune Supergiant – who broke the bank and bid Rs 14.50 crore at the 2017 IPL auction for the English all-rounder.
There were five franchises who were locked in a fierce bidding war to buy Stokes — Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Pune, before Pune eventually clinched the deal.
Stokes had a good season as he scored 316 runs in 12 matches at an average of 31.60. He also scored a century. With the ball, he picked up 12 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 26.33 and an economy rate of 7.18.

5. Glenn Maxwell – Rs 14.25 crore – Bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (2021)

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)
Bangalore spent a whopping sum of Rs 14.25 crore for Maxwell at the 2021 IPL auction. The decision came as a big shocker for many as he had gone through one of the worst years in the season before that, scoring just 108 runs in 11 innings (13 matches) at a strike rate of 101.88. He was then released by Punjab Kings after a disastrous 2020 season.
Kolkata and Rajasthan started off the bidding battle before Bangalore and Chennai joined in. An intense bidding war between Bangalore and Chennai followed, before RCB snatched the Aussie all-rounder.
Maxwell justified the faith shown in him by the Bangalore team management, finishing as their highest run-getter of the season with 513 runs at an average of 42.75 and a strike rate of 144.10. He hit six fifties during the IPL 2021 season and was rightfully retained by the Bangalore franchise ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.