5 most expensive buys in the history of the Delhi Daredevils

Kevin Pietersen could not prove as effective for the Delhi Daredevils the second time around

Over the years, several franchises have spent exponential amounts of money on several players, but if there is one team, who top the list for having bought players for huge amounts of money and have not been able to utilise them as well as they would like, it is the Delhi Daredevils.

The franchise have dished out massive amounts of money on several players, but have failed to make the most of them in any form hence finding themselves in the doldrums on more occasions than one.

Here are the 5 most expensive buys in the history of the franchisee:

5.Kevin Pietersen- Bought for Rs. 9 crores in 2012

The maverick right-hander was bought by the team for a sum of Rs. 9 crores by the team in the 2014 auction.

The right-hander, who was bought by the team for the second time after his first stint with them in 2012, could not create a similar impact in 2014 as compared to two years back, making a mere 294 runs in 11 matches as the Daredevils slipped in the pegging order.

The following year, Pietersen was released by the team and he was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, but could not come over to play for the side as he was looking to make a comeback.

He was released by the team the following year and was bought by the new team the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016.

4.Mahela Jayawardene- Bought for Rs 9.1 crores in 2012

Mahela Jayawardene proved to be an excellent buy for the Daredevils

In the history of the IPL, there have only been a few countable expensive buys, which have proven to be worth the money. Among those in the list is Mahela Jayawardene, who was bought by the team in 2012 for a sum of Rs 9.1 crores.

The franchise appointed the Sri Lankan as the captain of their side for the season and repaid the faith by leading the team to the Playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Chennai Super Kings.

The right-hander also had a good season with the bat in hand, making 335 runs with the bat that included three fifties. He played just one more season of the League for the same team the following year and was not picked by any of the franchises in the subsequent seasons.

Mahela was appointed the head coach of the Mumbai Indians for this season, last year.

3.Irfan Pathan- Bought for Rs. 12 crores in 2011

Irfan Pathan could do little to make his cost feel worthwhile

When one looks back at the history of the IPL and the players who could not quite set the field ablaze, Irfan Pathan's name would surely feature in the top 5 in the list.

The Baroda all-rounder was in the 2011 auction purchased by the franchise for a whopping sum of Rs. 11 crores, a purchase which while was not a surprising purchase in terms of the quality of the player, but surely was high in terms of the money spent on him.

In return, Pathan could muster up a mere 150 runs in 14 matches and could take only 11 wickets in the same number of matches.

2. Dinesh Karthik- Bought in 2014 for Rs. 12.50 crores

Dinesh Karthik could not replicate his 2013 heroics for Delhi

In the 2014 auction, Yuvraj Singh fetched the most amount of money as the Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for Rs. 14 crores.

The second biggest talking point from that auction came via the Daredevils who bought Dinesh Karthik for a huge sum of Rs 12.50 crores to set the eyeballs rolling up among everybody, who were following the auction.

Karthik was a part of the Mumbai Indians setup in 2013 and after a great season was picked in the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy in England.From a personal point of view, Karthik did little with the bat there even as India won, but even he might not have expected to be bought for such as astronomical amount as he did.

In the 2014 season, Karthik made 325 runs in 14 matches and was released at the end of that year.

1.Yuvraj Singh- Bought in 2015 for Rs. 16 crores.

Yuvraj Singh could not back up the big bucks with runs for the Daredevils

In the 2014 IPL Auction, Yuvraj Singh was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping sum of Rs. 14 crores.However, the all-rounder did little to back the investment by the franchise and prior to next year's auction was released by the franchise.

But in the 2015 auction, Yuvraj found a buyer again and this time the Delhi Daredevils put faith on him by spending Rs. 16 crores on the all-rounder to help them revitalise their fortunes.However, just like the case was in 2014, the 35-year-old could not do anything of note for the side, making 248 runs at an average of 19.

He was released by the team again the next year and was bought by the David Warned-led Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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Edited by Staff Editor