When the IPL was first introduced in 2008, people had no idea what to expect. Now, every year, fans anticipate the tournament eagerly, as franchises have been investing a great deal of money to recruit players at the IPL Auction. Some brought great success to the teams that hired them, while others failed to live up to expectations, leaving the franchises wondering if they had made the right choice. Here is a look at some of the best and worst investments in IPL’s history.
1. Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Best Buy: MS Dhoni
Prior to the commencement of the league, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) acquired the services of MS Dhoni for a fee of 11.33 crore rupees. His impressive leadership in the T20 World Cup 2007 caused a bidding war between CSK and Mumbai Indians (MI) at the auction. Regarding his batting, Dhoni has performed remarkably, accumulating 4,322 runs in 204 IPL matches.
Worst Buy: Andrew Flintoff
When discussing the worst purchase, Andrew Flintoff stands out after he drew the focus of the franchise in 2009. The ex-English cricketer was bought by CSK for 7.55 crore rupees in the 2009 IPL Auction. With just 62 runs and two wickets, he was a huge letdown for his franchise.
2. Mumbai Indians (MI)
Best Buy: Rohit Sharma
Noting Rohit Sharma’s bold batting approach while playing for Deccan Chargers between 2008 and 2010, Mumbai Indians (MI) paid him INR 9.2 crore in the 2011 IPL Auction. He compiled 538 runs in 19 games at a rate of 131.54. Sharma has accumulated 4,709 runs in 182 IPL matches at a strike rate of 129.51.
Worst Buy: Ricky Ponting
The franchise purchased Ponting for 2.1 crores based on his impressive history as a batsman and skipper for his national team. Unfortunately, the Australian great did not perform well with the bat, amassing only 52 runs in six games at a considerably low strike rate of 69.33.
3. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Best Buy: Gautam Gambhir
After KKR’s failure to achieve success in the first three tournaments, Gautam Gambhir was recruited for 11.04 crore in the 2011 auction. As a batsman, Gambhir performed exceptionally in the fifth edition of the tournament, with 590 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 143.55.
Worst Buy: Mashrafe Mortaza
At the 2009 auction, KKR spent 2.6 crore rupees to purchase the services of Mashrafe Mortaza. Against the Deccan Chargers during the 48th match, he gave up 58 runs in four overs. Despite this, the captain of the team, Brendon McCullum, still chose him to defend 21 runs in the final over. However, Sharma hit Mortaza for 26 runs, which enabled the Chargers to win.
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Best Buy: Virat Kohli
In 2008, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought the unproven Virat Kohli at the auction for INR 20 lakh. Since then, he has been a part of the franchise in all 15 editions and has become their top batsman with 6,624 runs including five centuries in 223 IPL matches. He has also been the captain from 2013 to 2021.
Worst Buy: Tymal Mills
Tymal Mills is considered to be the worst purchase of RCB due to his poor bowling performance in 2017. Despite his success in T20 Blast, with 102 wickets in 79 games, he was unable to perform in the IPL. In the 2017 mini-auction, Mills has listed at a base price of INR 50 lakh.
5. Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Best Buy: Shane Watson
Shane Watson was a major factor in Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) championship win in 2008. He had an impressive first season with 472 runs and 17 wickets in 15 games, and the franchise had purchased him for 4 crores at the auction. Watson continued to be a force in 2013, compiling 543 runs and 13 wickets in 16 matches.
Worst Buy: Jaydev Unadkat
Rajasthan Royals made a huge investment in Jaydev Unadkat in the 2018 auction due to his exceptional performance for Rising Pune Supergiant the prior year. He took only 11 wickets in 15 matches at a high rate of 9.65 runs per over.
6. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Best Buy: David Warner
In 2014, Sunrisers Hyderabad paid David Warner 5.5 crore rupees to bolster their batting line-up. He proceeded to win the hearts of the team’s supporters by amassing 4,014 runs for SRH in 95 matches with a 142.59 strike rate. The following year, he compiled 562 runs in 14 matches with an astounding strike rate of 156.54.
Worst Buy: Deepak Hooda
At the 2018 mega auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) acquired Deepak Hooda for 3.6 crore rupees. Unfortunately, he only earned 87 runs in nine matches, with a mediocre strike rate of 107.40.
7. Delhi Capitals (DC)
Best Buy: Rishabh Pant
In the 2016 IPL Auction, the Delhi Capitals acquired Rishabh Pant for 1.9 crore rupees in the mini-auction. In his debut season he scored 198 runs in 10 matches with a hit rate of 130.26. The following season, the left-handed batsman performed even better, amassing 366 runs in 14 matches with a remarkable strike rate of 165.61.
Worst Buy: Yuvraj Singh
DC paid Yuvraj Singh 16 crore rupees to be part of the team. Nevertheless, the former star cricketer made the franchise rue their choice since he scored just 248 runs in 14 matches with a strike rate of 118.09.
8. Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Best Buy: KL Rahul
The team spent a large sum of 11 crore rupees on KL Rahul and gave him the captaincy position for the tournament. Over the course of four seasons playing for PBKS, he accumulated 2548 runs in 55 matches with a strike rate of 139.76, making him the top run scorer for the squad.
Worst Buy: Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell is one of the worst investments of Punjab Kings (PBKS) due to his lack of success in the tournament from 2013-2020. During his time playing for PBKS from 2014-2017, he exhibited inconsistency with a total of 1,186 runs in 52 matches.
9. Gujarat Titans (GT)
Best Buy: Hardik Pandya
In the round-robin stage, Hardik Pandya was a great leader, leading his team to the top of the table with 10 wins. In terms of batting, he was at his best, scoring 487 runs in 15 matches with a strike rate of 131.26. With the ball, he also contributed 8 wickets at an economy rate of 7.27.
Worst Buy: Vijay Shankar
At the 2022 IPL Auction, GT purchased Vijay Shankar for 1.4 crore. Unfortunately, he only achieved 15 runs in the four matches he played and his performance was underwhelming.
10. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
Best Buy: KL Rahul
After being signed by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a fee of INR 17 crore, KL Rahul joined them after spending four years with Punjab Kings (PBKS). He was the second-highest run-scorer with 616 runs in 15 matches, at a strike rate of 135.38.
Worst Buy: Andrew Tye
LSG signed Andrew Tye last year due to his impressive bowling history in the league, with his base price being 1 crore rupees. He was given three games to demonstrate his bowling prowess. Unfortunately, he was not successful and only took two wickets at an expensive rate of 9.72.
