IPL 2018: At the halfway stage, rating the three Indians who cost over Rs. 10 crores

After three weeks of enthralling action, the Indian Premier League has entered into its second half. The race for the playoffs is bound to get intense from here on and the upcoming week will confirm the elimination of at least one team from the competition.

The top three ranked teams on the points table are just a few wins away from booking their place in the playoffs. While the door for the bottom-ranked teams is slowly closing.

IPL, which is said to be a talent producing factory, is also known for turning the fortunes of players by making them rich overnight. Some of the players get lucky in the auction and take home an amount bigger than what they get playing in the internationals. 3 Indians players were signed for over Rs. 10 crores in the auction this year and all of them must be feeling the money pressure while playing for their respective teams.

Here's a look at how they have fared in the season after the seven rounds of matches:

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#3 Jaydev Unadkat

Jaydev Undakat, the fast bowler who plays for Saurashtra in the domestic circuit was the most expensive Indian bought in the auction this year. He grabbed eyeballs of the Indian selectors after putting on an impressive show in the IPL last year.

He took 24 wickets in 12 matches at an economy of 7.02 and emerged as the second highest wicket-taker in the season. Unadkat has been a regular in the Indian T20 team in the past few months.

Unadkat who is playing for Rajasthan Royals has looked ordinary right from the first game of the season. In the 7 matches that he has played so far, he has taken just 4 wickets at an economy of 10.18. He has not been able to complete his quota of 4 overs in most of the matches.

At Rs. 11.5 crore, he was the most expensive Indian player in the auction this year but he has not been able to prove his worth. If he fails in the upcoming matches too, the team will be left with no option but to drop him.

Rating: 4/10

#2 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey, the Karnataka batsman has been a mainstay in the Indian T20 team. He has been in and out of the ODI team and is fighting for the no.4 spot in the team. Pandey, who was a mainstay in the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the previous seasons, was released by the franchise ahead of the auction.

He has been impressive in T20s both in internationals and in the IPL. In the IPL he has played in 111 matches in which he has scored 2373 runs at an average of 28.25 and a strike rate of 119.60.

In the 8 matches that he has played so far in the ongoing season, he has scored 158 runs at an average of 26.33 and a strike rate of 112.85. He has scored 2 fifties in the season which means he has scored close to 50 runs in the rest of the matches. Although he has failed to deliver with the bat, he has been excellent in the field.

With Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales opening the batting for Hyderabad, Pandey will be batting at his usual no. 4 position. Being one of the costliest players bought in the auction this year, Pandey has a big responsibility on his shoulders and must be looking forward to playing long innings in the upcoming matches.

Rating: 6/10

#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul, the Karnataka batsman, is one of the finest wicketkeeper-batsman in the country. He has been a mainstay in the Indian cricket team for more than two years now. He is one of the few players in the world to hit centuries in all the three formats.

Rahul is a regular in the Test team but can be seen warming the benches in the T20 Internationals. He has not been able to find a place in the current ODI team due to lack of a vulnerable spot in the lineup. India's limited over wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni is nearing his retirement and KL Rahul is one of the top contenders to take his place in the team.

He is currently opening the batting for Kings XI Punjab and is looking in fine touch having scored the fastest IPL fifty in the opening game itself. In the 7 matches that he has played so far, he has scored 268 runs at an average of 38.28 and a strike rate of 170.70.

Rahul has already proved his worth with five 30+ scores in 7 games. He is also the only wicketkeeper in the Punjab team which secures his place in the team for the whole of the season. Rahul may be looking forward to performing in the season and cementing his place in the T20I team. He must be eyeing a place in the ODI team too.

Rating: 8.5/10