IPL 2018 : 5 expensive buys that didn't impress

Experts, who closely follow T20 cricket and more precisely IPL, believe that IPL auctions can really be the most pivotal stage to make a champion side or not. Owners indulge in days of analysis and research before selecting their potential buys – for whom they see the price as no barrier, getting them in their side is the only aim.

It is at this juncture of IPL that a price war is fought between owners and every player is available (apart from a maximum of 3 that can be retained). This year’s IPL auction witnessed some big buys all owing to the previous year performances of these player’s that made owners want them on their side for they saw them as potential match winners.

The highest bid went to the English all-rounder in Ben Stokes, who backed with his solid performance as an all-rounder for Rising Pune Supergiants became a hot favorite for all franchises to have in their starting XI, he played for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018.

The highest bid for an Indian player went to Jaydev Unadkat, the left-arm fast medium bowler who interestingly also played for Rising Pune Supergiant last year, bought by Rajasthan Royals this year. It was his bowling particularly in the latter part of the innings which impressed one and all and was pivotal to RPS' journey to the finals of the 2017 edition.

This article circles around the big buys from this year's IPL auction and whether they could give apt ROI (Return on Investment) to their owners. It's simply not easy to justify your performance based on your prize of buying but seeing it strictly in terms of one's individual performance, we try and analyze each individual player, their role in the side and their overall stats for this year's IPL.

It is also to be duly noted that majority of the big buys from owners came in form of foreign players that are often the key to the welfare of an IPL team - since it's their international experience that makes a team strong to its core. Thus, the expectation from foreign players increases from owners after having paid big bucks to get them into their side.

In this list, we name 5 expensive IPL auction buys from 2018, who had a rather ordinary IPL and probably weren’t the match winners that we expected them to be.

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Ben Stokes

The English all-rounder came into this IPL with plenty of news circling around him. It hasn’t been an ideal last one year for Stokes since he has had to deal with troubles of being axed from England team for their New Zealand tour earlier this year due to indulging in a nightclub brawl in England. His prospects of returning to international cricket seemed rather dull but he has since fought back and prior to his England return, he played the IPL 2018.

Stokes, however, did not manage to impress as per the talent we all know him to possess. He was given a lengthy run in the XI by Warne, not even contemplating dropping him from the side –since a player like Stokes can change a match single-handedly but Stokes didn’t really gift back with the rewards.

At a price tag of Rs. 12.5 crores to his name, Stokes could only deliver 196 runs and 8 wickets in the 13 matches that he played.

Manish Pandey

Indian talent is always preferred by owners since there’s limitation on only 4 overseas players in XI and a strong bunch of local talent only strengthens your team to a great extent. Pandey has been a brilliant asset to IPL team’s that he’s played for, most recently the KKR from which he made the shift to SRH this season.

Pandey has had a season to rather forget for SRH, who was bought for a whopping price of Rs. 11 crores. Maybe it’s the Hyderabad pitch that’s often slow and low and favorable to bowlers as compared to Eden Gardens where he previously played for but pitch cannot be an excuse for someone of Pandey’s caliber who is a true match-winner.

Pandey scored 284 runs in 15 matches at an average of 25 this season. His highest score this season was only 62*. In comparison to the previous season, Pandey scored at an average of 49 for KKR – which speaks highly of how this season wasn’t one for him to remember.

Glenn Maxwell

The hard-hitting Aussie who has made a name for himself to clear the boundary fences at his own ease and will has been for years now a star-attraction in the IPL. Maxwell came into the IPL with some good T20 knocks for Australia, even though they were played a few months apart from the IPL – the expectation from him was nonetheless high and playing for DD which had a relatively young bunch of players, Maxwell’s role was all the more crucial.

Maxwell though had a season that just wasn’t true to his name of “Big Show”. In none of the innings that he played could we as viewers feel that he was in check of the bowlers and clearing the boundary ropes with ease – his form was a massive concern for DD and yet their coach in Ponting backed him. Sadly, the backing didn’t really yield much results and Ponting has since been criticized for his over-faith in Maxwell’s ability, often choosing him over Munro and Roy, both of whom had better seasons.

Maxwell had a disastrous campaign and only managed 169 runs in 12 matches at a very low average of 14.08. His worst season remains 2015 where he averaged only 13.

Jaydev Unadkat

It’s probably unfair to criticize bowlers in the T20 format since it’s more or less a format aimed at the free-flowing cricket by the batters but when the price point is of Rs. 11.5 crores, the owner are probably expecting something really special from the bowler. In this case, Jaydev Unadkat.

Unadkat had a really positive last year with RPS and this year he hasn’t really been a bowler that has performed mediocre but it’s just that with the talent that he possesses, the RR unit was probably looking for him to pick up more than 11 wickets in 15 matches.

The wickers aren’t the concern though; it’s the economy of over 9 that dented the RR unit the most. Unadkat will definitely be looking to fight back next season and with the talent that he possesses, we won’t be surprised if he be a game changer for RR in IPL 2019.

Ravi Ashwin

Bought for 7.6 CR and trusted with the captaincy of Kings XI Punjab, the IPL 2018 was big for Ashwin for many reasons. This was a new beginning for him; having played under Dhoni for CSK and RPS – now was the time to perform both as a leader and as an individual player.

IPL 2018 has been one for hits and misses by Ashwin. While 100 runs in 14 matches would have been justified from the Ashwin of 2013, today Ashwin is a proper batsman that can win you matches and he showed that in bits and pieces but wasn’t consistent with the bat, probably because he just batted too low. He averaged only 12.75 but his highest score of 45 that came against KKR did give an idea of his potential with the bat.

In a season where Rashid Khan single-handedly won matches for SRH with his spin, Ashwin had a rather ordinary IPL 2018. With 10 wickets in 14 matches, at an economy of 8.09 – Kings XI Punjab would’ve expected a lot from this quality player. It’s probably the phases of the innings where he bowled that didn’t yield him wickets and an economy of 8 is fine in middle overs but Ashwin would definitely look to improve upon this and come out even stronger in IPL 2019.