IPL 2018: Performance report of the most extravagant buys from each team

It is said that money does not always guarantee you success. As such, we saw a number of expensive buys fail in the last ten seasons of the IPL, whereas, some of the low-priced players did ridiculously well in the cash-rich league.

Whatever be the case, franchises still don't think twice before splashing the cash. As such, they spend over the odds on the players of their liking. Expectedly, Ben Stokes was the most expensive player in the auction and unexpectedly, Jaydev Unadkat came out as the most expensive Indian.

But how many of these extravagant buys are justifying the exorbitant amount of money spent on them this season?

Right on this note, here is a performance report of the most extravagant buys from each team.

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#8 Chris Woakes (Royal Challengers Banglore)- ₹7.4 Crore

The English all-rounder, Chris Woakes found himself among the millionaires when Royal Challengers Banglore decided to splash a huge amount of ₹7.4 crore on him during the auctions.

The former KKR man is the joint-most wicket-taker in the tournament with eight wickets already registered to his name and 3/36 being his best bowling figures.

However, Woakes slipped up too many runs this season and his expensive economy rate of 10.36 is a major area of concern for him. Nevertheless, with an impressive bowling strike rate of 13.75 in the tournament, Woakes he picked up eight wickets in just 18.2 overs.

Chris Woakes is also capable of contributing well with the bat but, he didn't get much chance to open up his hands till now and scored just 17 runs in the opening four matches.

#7 Kedar Jadhav (Chennai Super Kings)- ₹7.8 Crore

Kedar Jadhav is ruled out from the tournament with an injury.

Kedar Jadhav, the hard-hitting batsman from Maharashtra was bought by Chennai Super Kings in the auction at a price of Rs 7.8 crore.

He was a part of Chennai Super Kings' starting line-up in their first match of the tournament against Mumbai Indians. Sadly, he got injured during the match and left the field. However, he returned to the field during the final stages of the game and scored the winning runs for his team in the last over of the match.

It was reported after the game that Kedar Jadhav picked up a hamstring injury, which is going to rule him out for rest of the season. David Willey, an all-rounder from England, is named his replacement for the rest of the tournament, however, the Northampton-born cricketer is yet to feature in a game for CSK.

#6 Krunal Pandya (Mumbai Indians)- ₹8.8 Crore

Krunal Pandya is MI's main man.

After playing a vital role in Mumbai Indians' IPL triumph in 2017, Krunal Pandhya was re-signed by Mumbai Indians using their Right to Match card in the auctions this year.

The 26-year-old's consistency was a remarkable factor for Mumbai Indians to emerge as the champions in 2017. He contributed 243 runs in addition to ten wickets last season and also won the Man of the Match award in the finals.

He continued his form this season as well and already wrapped up five wickets in the opening four matches. His economy rate of 6.55 is among the best in the league with 3/28 being his best figures.

Krunal Pandhya also contributed some important runs down the order and scored 82 runs with an impressive strike rate of 151.85.

#5 Glenn Maxwell (Delhi Daredevils)- ₹9 Crore

Glenn Maxwell needs to fond his Mojo.

One of the most exciting T20 players, Glenn Maxwell was signed by Delhi Daredevils for a large sum of ₹9 crore.

The right-hander represented KXIP in the last season where he scored 310 runs at an average of 31 in the 13 matches he played. He registered the most number of sixes (26) last season and will be looking forward to replicating the same with his new franchise as well.

Maxwell missed the first game of this season due to his unavailability, however, he scored 81 runs in the next four games he played. With an impressive strike rate of 176.08, the Australian already registered six sixes to his name this season.

As Delhi Daredevils started this season poorly and are sitting at the bottom of the points table with just two points, Glenn Maxwell and co need to step up their game in order to get something out of the tournament.

#4 Chris Lynn (Kolkata Knight Riders)- ₹9.6 Crore

Chris Lynn is having a mixed season

After deciding against retaining him prior to the auctions, Kolkata Knight Riders paid a huge sum of ₹9.6 crores to bring back Chris Lynn to Kolkata.

The Australian looks off from his usual explosiveness during the first few games of the season but he found his mojo back and performed well during the last few games. He managed to score just 107 runs in the opening five matches and averages 30.16 runs per game with a healthy strike rate of 139.23.

However, with the tournament entering into the crucial stages, the fight for the top four positions will become stronger than ever and KKR will be expecting their record signing to start delivering at the time when it matters the most.

#3 Manish Pandey ( Sunrisers Hyderabad)- ₹11 Crore

Manish Pandey fails to deliver for SRH.

After an impressive spell with Kolkata Knight Riders, Manish Pandey was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a huge sum of ₹11 crore.

However, the Karnataka-born batsman proved to be a disappointment so far this season and managed to score only 76 runs in the first four games. He did show some glimpses of his abilities during SRH's last game against KXIP but that didn't prevent his team from facing their first defeat in the tournament.

Spending ₹11 crore on him may seem like a blunder as of now, but we cannot rule out a player of his caliber as he is capable of winning the game for his team on his own.

#2 KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab)- ₹11 Crore

KL Rahul was the most expensive India at the auctions.

Eyebrows were raised when the KXIP board showed aggression and signed KL Rahul for a whopping ₹11 crore at the IPL Auctions 2018.

Their faith in the Karnataka-born batsman paid off and he is in a brilliant form since then. He played some brilliant knocks for the Lions, including the fastest half-century in the IPL history-which came off in just 14 balls.

Apart from his batting, KL Rahul is also doing a fine job with the gloves as well and shut down the critics who doubted his abilities as a wicket-keeper prior to the tournament.

KL Rahul scored 213 runs at an average of 42.60 and with an impressive strike rate of 183.63 this season. He has been given the responsibility to provide a good start to the KXIP innings and his role in the team can massively affect KXIP's chances of winning their maiden IPL title.

#1 Ben Stokes(Rajasthan Royals)- ₹12.5 crore

Ben Stokes was picked up by RR for ₹12.5 crores.

The most expensive player of the 2018 IPL auctions, Ben Stokes was involved in intense bidding and was eventually picked up by Rajasthan Royals for a sum of ₹12.50 crore.

The English all-rounder didn't perform as per his likings so far this season and managed to score only 107 runs in the first five matches. He is an aggressive cricketer known for his power-hitting but, he failed to live up to his expectations as his strike rate of 120.22 is just a normal figure in the T20 cricket.

He didn't perform well with the bowl either and registered just one wicket to his name. His economy rate is a big concern for RR as he slipped the runs at a rate of 10.63 per over.

However, we are still in the early stages of the tournament and Ben Stokes has time to make his season a success from a disappointment.

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#Special mention- Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals)- ₹11.5 crore

Jayden Unadkat was the most expensive Indian at the auctions.

Jaydev Unadkat became the most expensive Indian player in the 2018 auction when he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping ₹11.5 crore.

Unadkat's performances for the Rising Pune Supergiant last year caught everyone's attention as he picked up 24 wickets from just 12 games, including a hat-trick against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

However, the former Rising Pune Supergiants' pacer is a poor show so far and failed to live up to his expectations. He registered just two wickets in the opening five games of the tournament and slipped away runs at a whopping economy rate of 10.66.

Although, the Saurashtra bowler is struggling to find his rhythm during the early days of the tournament, his ability to take wickets will be key for RR this season and they will be hoping their star man to return back to his form at the soonest.