Five Players who failed to justify their price tag in Indian T20 League 2022
Mumbai (Image Source: BCCI/IPL)
The Indian T20 League is the richest league in the world at present. Each year the tournament sees millions of dollars being spent for the most coveted players of the T20 format. The franchises look to cover all their bases for the season and in the process leave no stones unturned to secure the services for the best players. But not all the investments pay off. Sometimes the players fail to justify their price tags with their performances in the following season.
Let us look at five such players who failed to justify their price tags in the Indian T20 League 2022.
5. Shardul Thakur: Shardul Thakur had been an integral part of the Chennai team in the last few years. His performances with both the bat and the ball in the earlier editions of the tournament and also in the international arena made him a prized pick for the 15th edition of the tournament. Ahead of ITL 2022, Chennai releases him and hoped to buy him back in the mega auctions. But that did not happen as Delhi won the bidding war and secured Thakur’s services for a price of INR 10.75 Cr.
But in the 11 matches that he has played, he has not lived up to the expectations at all. He has picked up 9 wickets in the eleven matches at an average of 42.0 and has conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.12. With the bat in hand also he has disappointed scoring runs at an average of just 18.83. His performances have been one of the reasons for Delhi’s inconsistent performance this season.
4. Shreyas Iyer: Shreyas Iyer was a part of the Delhi team for the past few seasons. But ahead of the Indian T20 League 2022 mega auction, Iyer was released by his franchise. Kolkata looking for a captain snapped up Iyer for a price of INR 12.75 Cr. His form in the Sri Lanka series also added to the hype and people expected a brilliant performance for him in the 15th edition of the Indian T20 League.
Shreyas has looked in decent touch with the bat in hand. He has scored 336 runs in 12 innings at an average of 30.55 and a strike rate of 129.33. While he has been consistent his scoring rate has been a concern in some matches. Besides, he has failed to lead the team on the correct note. He has looked unsure about team compositions and has not backed his players enough. Thus, he has failed to live up to the expectations with which Kolkata bought him paying a hefty price.
3. Ishan Kishan: Ishan Kishan was a part of the Mumbai team in the last three seasons. But Mumbai released him ahead of the Indian T20 League 2022 mega auction. But his explosive batting in the last few matches of the previous season and also in the international arena made franchises rage a bidding war for him. But Mumbai ultimately won the bidding war and bought him for INR 15.25 Cr, making him the costliest player in the 2022 auction.
Ishan Kishan has failed to score consistently in the tournament so far. He has an aggregate of 321 runs in ITL 2022 at an average of 32.1 and a strike rate of 117.15. Barring some good knocks in some matches he has looked out of touch and also his strike rate for the season has been way below his career strike rate. Thus, Mumbai’s expectation is buying him for such a high price has not been repaid.
2. Virat Kohli: Bangalore retained Virat Kohli for INR 15 Cr for ITL 2022. But he has been in a dismal form throughout the season. He has already got 3 golden ducks to his name. Besides he has just scored 216 runs in the tournament at an average of 19.64 and a strike rate of 19.64. This has been the worst ITL season for the talismanic batter. So, Kohli as failed live up to the expectations and also his price tag.
1. Rohit Sharma: Mumbai retained Rohit Sharma for a price of INR 16 Cr for the Indian T20 League 2022. But he has failed to repay the trust his franchise showed in him. He has just scored 200 runs in the tournament from 11 matches at an average of 18.18 and a strike rate of 125.0. His failure has also been reflected in his team’s performance. Mumbai have lost nine of their 11 matches and languishing at the bottom of the points table. Thus, Sharma has failed to justify his high price tag.
