5 players from eliminated teams who earned more than ₹1 crore without playing any match in IPL 2024 ft. Chris Woakes

Six teams have been eliminated from IPL 2024. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians were the first to be knocked out, followed by Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and finally defending champions, Chennai Super Kings.

Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have qualified for the IPL 2024 playoffs. Interestingly, none of these four franchises made it to the playoffs last season.

Speaking of the teams eliminated, there were some expensive picks, whom the teams did not even try out once. Here's a list of five players who made more than ₹1 crore without playing a match in IPL 2024.

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#1 Chris Woakes - ₹4.2 crore

Punjab Kings (PBKS) splurged ₹4.2 crore to sign English all-rounder Chris Woakes, who had been away from the IPL since the first phase of 2021. Woakes represented Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals in his previous IPL stints.

Considering the experience that he had, Woakes was expected to play all matches for Punjab Kings. However, due to overseas combination issues, PBKS left him out of the side initially. Despite the team's poor show, Woakes never got an opportunity to play.

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#2 Sushant Mishra - ₹2.2 crore

When Mohammed Shami got injured, it looked like 23-year-old left-arm pacer Sushant Mishra would emerge as Gujarat Titans (GT)'s main pacer in IPL 2024. The team spent ₹2.2 crore to acquire the uncapped player's services.

However, Mishra was kept on the bench as the likes of Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Warrier, and Darshan Nalkande were picked ahead of him. Before GT's last two league matches, Mishra got injured and was ruled out of the season.

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#3 Jayant Yadav - ₹1.7 crore

The only capped Indian cricketer to feature on the list is Jayant Yadav. Even he was a member of the Gujarat Titans squad. GT picked him in their playing XI when the conditions assisted the spinners in the last two seasons.

However, this year, Yadav did not get a single opportunity. GT retained him for ₹1.7 crore before the auction. Perhaps, they could have picked him over Manav Suthar in the away fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

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#4 Rajvardhan Hangargekar - ₹1.5 crore

The last two positions on this list belong to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players. The first name is of pace-bowling all-rounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who made his IPL debut last season.

He bowls right-arm pace and can smack big shots. CSK could not find a place for him in their match squad even though there were so many injuries to their fast bowlers in IPL 2024.

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#5 Prashant Solanki - ₹1.2 crore

Another CSK member to find a place on this list is uncapped leg-spinner Prashant Solanki. CSK signed him for ₹1.2 crore back in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction and retained him for the same price in 2023 and 2024.

Solanki played two matches for the Chennai Super Kings in 2022, scalping two wickets. However, he warmed the benches in 2023 and 2024. It is unlikely CSK will retain him for the next season.