IPL 2018: 5 Expensive Players who justified their price tag

Over the years in the IPL the players are brought by teams in the auction process. In this process, due to the auction dynamics, some players tend to get more money than even they expected. Every year when the IPL is over people start talking about the expensive players who were not worth the money they got in the auction. But there are a lot of players who justify their price tag every year. Ben Stokes, for example, got Rs. 14.5 Crore in the 2017 Auction. But wasn’t he worth that much money? He was more than worthy as he did everything possible for RPS and got them to the finals and even won the MVP award.

The key for the players, especially the youngsters with a high price tag is that they should play their natural game irrespective of the money they are going to get. It’s not their fault that they are getting so much money. They didn’t ask for it, so they should just forget about it while playing.

So let’s have a look at players, like Ben Stokes in 2017, who justified their price tag this year.

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5. Sanju Samson (RR)

A huge price tag can sometimes be a burden for the player and if he is a youngster it can trouble you even more. But that was not the case with the young Sanju Samson who was brought by RR for Rs. 8 Crore in this year’s auction.

Sanju Samson started this year’s IPL with a bang and even got the orange cap for the first few games. His innings of 92* off just 45 balls against RCB was absolutely sensational. He hit 10 sixes in that innings which is a huge number for an Indian youngster in one inning. Even though he tailed towards the end of the IPL he scored a crucial 50 against KKR in the Eliminator but unfortunately couldn’t win the game for his team. He scored 441 runs in 15 innings for RR and was definitely worth the price in this IPL and so he is slotted in at No.5 on this list.

4. Krunal Pandya (MI)

Krunal Pandya was retained using the RTM card by MI

Mumbai Indians are a team who love to keep the players who performed well for them in the previous year. It was the same case when they choose to use the RTM card for Krunal Pandya even after he went for a huge price of Rs.8.8 Crore in the auction.

The elder Pandya brother repaid their faith as he once again performed well in the IPL. Krunal Pandya was 10th on the list of Most Valuable Players in this IPL as he contributed with both bat and ball. He took 12 wickets in at an economy rate of just 7.07. He scored 228 runs at a strike rate of 145.22. He bowled some crucial overs including the final one against KKR. He even played some great cameos which helped MI win games. KP has definitely proved his worth and so he is slotted in at No.4 on this list.

3. Andrew Tye (KXIP)

Andrew Tye won the purple cap by taking 24 wickets

Andrew Tye was one of the few Australians who came to the IPL and performed exceedingly well. He was picked by KXIP for Rs. 7.2 Crore in the auction as their premier fast bowler. He was not only KXIP’s best bowler but also the tournament’s best bowler in this IPL. He won the purple cap this year as he took 24 wickets in just 14 games at an economy rate of 8 and a strike rate of 14. He took three 4 wicket hauls this season which is the most by any bowler in one season.

Andrew Tye is a T20 specialist and performs really well in various leagues. He has a number of hat-tricks to his name. Even though he didn’t get a hat-trick this season the 24 wickets which he took were worth of the Rs. 7.2 Crore which KXIP paid.

2. KL Rahul (KXIP)

KL Rahul was the second most expensive Indian Player in the auction

KXIP went in with only one retained player and hence had a big amount in their purse. So they spent some large amounts of money on a few players and KL Rahul was one of them. Many thought that Rahul will go back to RCB as they will use the RTM card but KXIP had other plans as they bid so heavily for KL Rahul that RCB didn’t have any other option than to leave him. KXIP spent Rs. 11 Crore on this talented Indian Batsmen.

But he was worthy of more than what he was bought for as he scored 659 runs in just 14 innings at an average of 54.91 and a strike rate of 158.41. He started this IPL with the fastest ever IPL 50 of just 14 balls. At times, Rahul was the only KXIP batsmen who scored runs for his team. Many of his great knocks went in vain as KXIP couldn’t qualify for the playoffs. But still Rahul was 3rd on the list of the highest run-getters and so he is slotted at No.2 on this list.

1. Rashid Khan (SRH)

Rashid Khan was retained by SRH using the RTM card for 9 Crore

Everybody knew that Rashid Khan is one of the best spinners in this format but still a price of 9 Crore for a 19-year-old spinner seemed too much. But it wasn’t. He has done everything he can to prove his worth in the side. He bowled dot balls, took wickets, took catches, scored runs and even affected some run-outs. He was absolutely sensational this season for SRH.

His performance against KKR in the 2nd Qualifier was one of the best all-round performances you would see in a T20 game. He took 21 wickets at an economy rate of under 7. He was second on the list of leading wicket-takers in this season’s IPL. You can’t expect more from a 19-year-old and so he has been slotted in at No.1 on this list.