IPL 2018: 5 players with the worst cost-to-performance ratio

With only one match left in the IPL, teams will already be on the lookout for players that will help their cause in the next season. In addition to this, leagues around the world will also be using the IPL as a platform against which the players can be judged.

This year's complete recycling of the teams saw some players bringing in big bids from teams - players you otherwise wouldn't associate with big money. By the end of the auction, it felt like a few cricketers had been overestimated and paid well above their means.

Those fears have now been realised, and it is safe to say that a lot of them have played nowhere near their financial worth. Surprisingly, even a few of the players who were expected to perform have let down their sides big time.

On that note, let us take a look at 5 players who came nowhere near to justifying their price tag during this edition of the IPL:

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#5 Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch fit his team's middle order well - non-existent and mediocre

With the absence of David Warner, Aaron Finch was the Australian opener expected to take the tournament by storm. Unfortunately, not even a slight breeze was felt.

Having missed the first game because of his wedding, Finch walked into the KXIP middle order with a lot to offer. 10 innings later, Finch has disappeared into a cloud of mediocrity and frustration.

Finch wasn't even that audacious a buy - a throwaway ₹6.2 crores was enough for the Kings XI to snatch his services and they will still feel like they have been ripped off. The middle order as a whole derailed during the course of the tournament, and Finch was the man with his hands on the emergency brake.

Having scored a paltry 134 runs in the tournament, Finch is one of the most over-charging players - every one of his runs being worth around 4 lakhs and 62 thousand.

#4 Manish Pandey

Pandey has been among the runs but is yet to shine with the Sunrisers

Despite finishing the round-robin phase as the toppers, SRH will be right to feel undone by their investment in Manish Pandey.

Bought for a mind-boggling ₹11 crores, Pandey is yet to convert that into his performances. He still has one match to come good for the Sunrisers (if he plays in the XI), but as things stand Pandey has been something of an unnecessary expense.

Pandey has not been far from the runs this season, but the enormous weight of the tag around his neck is impossible to ignore. Despite their excellent bowling, SRH have gone on to lose matches because of their middle order - and that is where Pandey comes in.

His infuriating innings against RCB aside, Pandey is also not the sharpest tool in the box. He routinely gets out to poor delivers owing to his own recklessness, and is yet to learn from his big share of mistakes.

Having scored 284 runs this season, Pandey could have passed for a moderately-priced batsman. But 11 big ones is a lot to get paid, and when things are broken down it gets even worse - Pandey's single run comes at the cost of 3 lakhs and 87 thousand rupees.

#3 Ben Stokes

The costliest player of this IPL has been a source of major disappointment for the Royals

The costliest player of the 2018 IPL auction, Ben Stokes has not had the same impact he had the previous year at Pune.

Bought for a staggering ₹12.5 crores by the Rajasthan Royals, Stokes was the all-rounder around which the Royals revolved. But despite handy knocks here and there, Stokes has been a failure this season.

Scoring a mere 196 runs this season, Stokes (along with Buttler) left the RR squad before the playoffs and wasn't able to take them through to the qualifiers either. His bowling this season has been a letdown as well - 8 wickets in 222 balls is hardly anything to brag about.

The reason why Rajasthan invested so much was his debut performance in the IPL last year - 316 runs and 12 wickets. From that, it has been a steep fall for Stokes, and subsequently for RR.

Assuming Stokes was granted equal money as a batsman and as a bowler, this translates to around 3 Lakhs and 20 thousand for every run he has scored and just above 78 lakhs for every wicket he has taken.

#2 Glenn Maxwell

Maxwell's return to Delhi was a lot of bark but no bite

To call Glenn Maxwell a disappointment would be an understatement. But to rack the brain for another word to describe his sorry performance would be undeserved.

Not very often does a player come into a tournament with this much amount of hype riding on his name, only to falter and stumble at every step. And when Maxwell fell, Delhi fell too. Such was his reputation that they were afraid to drop him, and continued to keep faith in him right until they hit rock-bottom.

Bought for ₹9 crores, Maxwell was considered a steal at his price and Delhi were talked up about being geniuses. In another timeline, they might be but in the only one we know and witnessed, Maxwell has been one big bag of misfortune.

Yet another victim of Finch's wedding party (where he was the best man), Maxwell contributed a mere 169 runs and 5 wickets during the course of the tournament. Assuming the KXIP paid equal measures for his batting and bowling, it comes down to 2 lakhs and 66 thousand per run and 90 lakhs per wicket.

#1 Jaydev Unadkat

Unadkat has been one of the worst performers of this season, only richer.

The only reason Maxwell takes the second place is that the moment the auction ended, it was fully expected that Jaydev Unadkat would be taking the first place, and for once the lanky pacer has not disappointed.

It is to Rajasthan's credit that they finished in the position they did after having two players on this list. Why anyone decided that ₹11.5 crores is a justifiable price tag for the medium-pacer is beyond me, and from the looks of it, beyond Unadkat himself.

24 wickets in the previous edition helped his cause, but he was understandably bogged down under the immense weight of his price tag. He finished the season with just 11 wickets - coming down to 1.04 crores per every wicket.