IPL 2018: 5 Indian stars who failed to replicate their last season's success stories

However great a player might be, maintaining the consistency is not easy when it comes to a tournament with a hectic schedule like the IPL. There have been players who have been consistent throughout their IPL careers, while some were just 'one season wonders'.

But thanks to the players, there hasn't been a shortage of entertainment in the eleven-year history of the league. They keep the fans at the edge of their seats with their splendid display of cricket.

Let us now look at five Indian stars who had a fabulous 2017 IPL, but failed to recreate their magic this season.

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#5 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey could not justify his hefty price tag

Manish Pandey, who anchored Kolkata's record run chase against the Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 IPL finals, represented the Knight Riders from 2014-2017.

The Karnataka batsman was one of the prominent players in the KKR batting line-up, scoring 1370 runs across four seasons. In the last edition (2017), he scored 396 runs in 14 matches at 128.57, with his highest score being 81*.

His crucial partnerships with the then skipper, Gautam Gambhir was instrumental in KKR's run to the playoffs in season ten. Pandey, who scored the first ever ton by an Indian in the IPL was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping INR 11 crore at the 2018 auctions.

He was expected to play a major role in the Sunrisers' middle-order this season after being bought for such an enormous price.

In 15 matches, Pandey managed just 284 runs at a strike-rate of 115.44. In spite of possessing a strong bowling attack, the Hyderabad franchise faltered in some matches due to the collective failure of their middle order.

For a batsman who has been scored 2499 runs in 118 matches, it was a forgettable season after being bought for an astronomical price.

Though the Orange army managed to reach the finals, it was not a memorable season personally for a player of Pandey's caliber.

#4 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma was not at his best with

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bat this season

Rohit Sharma had a sensational run in 2017, where he led the Mumbai Indians to a record third IPL title.

Thereby, he not just became the most successful player in the IPL but also the most successful skipper in the history of the league. He amassed 333 runs last season, which included three half-centuries at a strike-rate of 121.97, with his best score being 67.

In 2018, Mumbai retained their skipper for a whopping INR 15 crore. But this season was a disappointing one for the Mumbaikar, as he managed only 286 runs in 14 league matches for the three-time winners.

This was the first instance of Hitman not scoring more than 300 runs in an IPL season- a rare failure for the champion limited-overs batsman.

To add to his woes, the defending champions failed to make it to the playoffs after losing to the Delhi Daredevils at the Kotla in a nail-biting game.

Struggling for runs, Sharma failed to step-up for Mumbai and could not recreate his last season's heroics. He was not at his usual best this season and his struggle with the bat was evident.

#3 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir stepped down as captain after a disappointing run

Gautam Gambhir, who is credited to have transformed the Kolkata Knight Riders into one of the 'IPL powerhouses' led them to two titles (in 2012 and 2014) during his seven-year stay at the franchise.

The stylish southpaw was the second highest run-getter behind David Warner last season (2017), where he scored 498 runs in 16 matches at a strike-rate of 128.02.

Gambhir also led the Knight Riders to third place in season ten, where they lost in the Qualifier-2 to the eventual winners, Mumbai Indians.

As he was not retained by the KKR management ahead of the 2018 IPL auctions, he was bought by his former franchise- Delhi Daredevils for INR 2.8 crore and was made their captain.

But his return to his former franchise did not go as expected, as he managed to score just 85 runs in the first six games.

Also, his team was languishing at the bottom of the table with a solitary win from six matches and that prompted him to step down from the captaincy thereby handing over the reigns to the young Shreyas Iyer.

Also, he kept him out of the squad for the rest of the 2018 IPL season.

#2) Jaydev Unadkat

Jaydev Unadkat was the costliest Indian in the auction

The talented Saurashtra pacer represented the now-defunct, Rising Pune Supergiant franchise last season.

Jaydev Unadkat had a wonderful stint with the Pune outfit, as he took 24 wickets at an economy of 7.02 and guided them to the finals where they narrowly lost to the Mumbai Indians by just one run.

Due to his impressive run in the tenth edition, he was bought for a staggering INR 11.5 crore by the Rajasthan Royals at this year's auction. In 15 matches for the Royals, Unadkat took 11 wickets at an economy of 9.65.

A lot was expected from the left-arm pacer who is known for his cutters, swing and toe-crushers after he being bought for such a huge amount.

Unfortunately, he failed to replicate his last season's performance for the Royals. Maybe the pressure of the enormous price tag and the expectations of the management have weighed down on him.

#1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a poor outing this season

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the best Indian pacer in the IPL with 120 wickets in 102 matches. The Uttar Pradesh pacer won the Purple Cap in Sunrisers Hyderabad's title-winning 2016 season as well in the last edition (2017). A wonderful swing bowler, Bhuvi was Hyderabad's triumph card in the ninth and tenth season.

Last season, he took 26 wickets at an economy of 7.05 and was impressive in Sunrisers' run to the playoffs where they lost in the Eliminator to the Kolkata Knight Riders. The sixth highest wicket-taker in the league history was retained by the Orange army ahead of the 2018 IPL auctions for INR 8.5 crore.

Though the Sunrisers had a memorable season, Bhuvneshwar had a poor outing with Williamson's men finishing with nine wickets in 12 matches.

Bhuvi was expected to lead the Sunrisers' strong, talented domestic pool of pacers. But his form dwindled this season and he failed to replicate his last season's heroics for Hyderabad.

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