5 over-priced players who got more than what they deserved

IPL is one of the most popular franchise-based T20 leagues in the world. The tournament has grown in stature with each passing year. With that, the paychecks that the players take home has also increased exponentially. The teams do not shy away from dishing out big bucks for the players they feel can make the difference. The most stinging fact about IPL auctions and the huge bucks involved in it is the fact that apart from the big names in international cricket, even the lesser known players earn huge amounts at the auction. Players who have no or very little international experience have bagged huge sums of money.

Murugan Ashwin, Tymal Mills, Krunal Pandya are a prime example of untested players getting big bucks at the auction. Also, some international stars attract huge bids primarily on their reputation.

While some of these players have been able to live up to the big bucks put on them, others have succumbed under the pressure of the price tag.

This year too there were players who might have got what they actually deserved. Here is a list of 5 players who got more than what they deserved at the auction.

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#5 Barinder Sran - 3.4 cr (Mumbai Indians)

Sran drops a catch in the outfield

Mumbai Indians struggled last season because of the lack of depth in the bowling department. They seemed to be over-dependent on Jasprit Bumrah. In order to rectify that, they bought a lot of pacers at the auction. One of those pacers is Barinder Sran. Sran made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals in 2015.

A year later, he made his international debut for Team India. The Punjab pacer impressed everyone in IPL 2016 where he took 14 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were crowned champions that year. Sran then shifted base in 2018 and played for Kings XI Punjab where he failed to make an impact.

In the six matches for the Kings, the 26-year-old took just 4 wickets and proved to be very expensive giving away runs at an economy of 10.40. With such inconsistent track record, Sran will consider himself lucky to get 3.4 cr.

#4 Mohit Sharma - 5 cr (Chennai Superkings)

Sharma failed to impress in IPL 2018

It will be a happy homecoming for Mohit Sharma as he heads back to his first IPL franchise, Chennai Superkings. Mohit Sharma shot into prominence after his IPL exploits under MS Dhoni. The Haryana pacer even made it to the national side because of his magnificent IPL record.

After CSK's two-year ban in 2015, Mohit was picked up by Kings XI Punjab in 2016. The 27-year-old had a couple of decent seasons with the Kings when he picked up 13 wickets in 14 matches in both 2016 and 2017. But the pacer was erratic and unusually inconsistent last season. In the 9 matches he played in IPL 2018, Mohit took just seven wickets while giving away runs at an economy of 10.85.

Moreover, Chennai Superkings already have a strong pace contingent with Lungi Ngidi, David Willey, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and a couple of other domestic Indian pacers, so the decision to get back Mohit Sharma for such a huge amount comes out to be irrational.

#3 Varun Chakravarthy - 8.4 cr (Kings XI Punjab)

How will the Kings accommodate Varun in the playing XI?

Mystery spinners have always been in demand in the IPL. Murugan Ashwin, KC Cariappa are two prime examples of spinners who have made it big at the IPL auction. The latest to join the list is Tamil Nadu's latest spin sensation Varun Chakravarthy. The 27-year-old came into the limelight this year when he took nine wickets in 10 matches conceding runs at an economy of 4.7 runs per over in TNPL. He played a huge role in his team Siechem Madurai Panthers' title triumph.

Varun followed it up with a superlative performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he ended up being the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 22 wickets in 9 matches. The spinner, who has seven variations in his repertoire, raised a lot of eyebrows when his bid rose as high as 8.4 crores at the auction.

Even though Varun looks to be a promising talent, keeping in mind the fact that he doesn't have much first-class experience, the amount of money spent on him might just backfire. Most importantly, Kings XI already have Mujeeb and Ashwin in their squad and it remains to be seen how they will accommodate Varun in the playing XI.

#2 Carlos Brathwaite - 5 cr (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Can Brathwaite finally deliver in the IPL?

Expectations were sky high when Carlos Brathwaite made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils, in 2016. Brathwaite was fresh from his last over heroics in the World T20 finals against England and was tipped to be the next Caribbean superstar in the IPL. Three seasons have gone by and nothing of that sort has been seen from the West Indies T20 skipper.

Brathwaite has played only 14 matches in 3 seasons scoring a meagre 170 runs at a poor average of 15.45. He hasn't done too much with the ball either, taking 13 wickets and giving away runs at a high economy of 8.89. Even though Brathwaite made some useful contribution at the fag end of the season in IPL 2018, Sunrisers Hyderabad did not retain him for 2019.

However, Brathwaite was snapped at a price of 5 crores by Kolkata Knight Riders at the auction this time around. It remains to be seen whether Brathwaite can deliver this time around or not.

#1 Jaydev Unadkat - 8.4 cr (Rajasthan Royals)

Royals dished out 8.4 cr to get back Unadkat

Lightning doesn't strike twice, but it certainly did for Jaydev Unadkat. After being the most expensive Indian player at last auction, he ended up being the joint most expensive player at today's auction too and interestingly, he goes to the same buyer, Rajasthan Royals. But the question still stands, is he really worth it?

Unadkat was instrumental in Rising Pune Supergiant's journey to the final in IPL 2017. Owing to which he was bought at a whopping 11.5 crores. The Saurashtra seamer was expected to lead the Royals' bowling attack but things did not turn out too well for Unadkat. He took just 11 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 9.65.

And even though the left-arm seamer has been in good form of late, picking up 16 wickets in 8 matches in Vijay Hazare Trophy, 8.4 crores might just be a little too much considering his last season's performance.