3 Delhi Capitals stars who didn't justify their expensive price tags

Delhi Daredevils (DD), recently rechristened as Delhi Capitals, is the only remaining franchise which hasn’t reached a final in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the past, Delhi have had star-studded line-ups filled with exceptional cricketers like Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, David Warner, Glenn McGrath and Tillakaratne Dilshan. However, they have not been able to perform to their potential.

Delhi have usually found themselves paying huge amounts for their targets in the IPL Auction. While they have executed a few intelligent buys, they have also splashed enormous amounts to capture their targets. Sometimes, these highly expensive players were not utilized rightly by the team management and dropped after one or two years for various reasons. Let us take a look at three Delhi players who didn't justify their expensive price tags.

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#3 Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews

As if purchasing Yuvraj Singh for a whopping INR 16 crores was not sufficient, Delhi purchased Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews for a huge amount of INR 7.5 crores in the same IPL auction in 2015.

When Delhi purchased him, Mathews was injury prone and hence his price tag was questioned. In the 2014 IPL season, he played 12 matches and scored only 145 runs at an average of 12.08. It didn’t help that the right-hander played at different batting positions in different matches. He also grabbed eight wickets at an economy-rate of 9.51.

In 2015, Mathews scored 144 runs from 11 matches at an average of 20.57 and picked seven wickets at an economy-rate of 8.20. He was released by the franchise after that one season. In the 2017 IPL auction, he was picked up by Delhi once again.

#2 Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell

In 2012, Glenn Maxwell made his first IPL appearance for Delhi against Chennai Super Kings. His greatest IPL season came in 2014, where he scored 553 runs at a terrific strike-rate of 188.92. After that, Maxwell had a couple of productive seasons.

During the 2018 auction, the Australian all-rounder was picked up by Delhi for a whopping price amount of INR 9 crores after a heightened bidding war with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Maxwell was anticipated to set the field on fire. However, he did not do justice to his potential and ended up scoring just 169 runs in 12 matches at an average of 14.09. He was not retained after that season.

#1 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh

In the 2014 IPL season, Yuvraj Singh played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and scored 375 runs in just 14 games with three magnificent fifties. Despite that, he was not retained by the RCB management for the subsequent season.

During the 2015 IPL cuction, Yuvraj was picked up by Delhi for a huge amount of INR 16 crores and earned the tag of being the most expensive cricketer of the season.

In 2015, Yuvraj had a poor season as he scored only 247 runs in 14 games. With the ball, he could grab only one wicket at an ordinary economy-rate of 8.10. Delhi finished seventh in the points table and faced criticism for buying the star left-hander for such a massive amount.