IPL 2018: 3 biggest flops in IPL history

IPL is a fiercely competed league, made up of some of the biggest names in cricket. Some players have gone on to do great things in the IPL and have earned a place in the hearts and minds of millions of fans. However, some have not had the same success and have struggled to cope with the pressure of the league.

There have been a few players who were full of promise when they burst on to the scene but failed to impress. This article looks at three players who have failed in the IPL when they were bought at a high price and did not justify their price tag at all, or in other words, the biggest flops in IPL history.

#3 Andrew Flintoff in 2009

The charismatic England all-rounder was snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings for the 2009 edition of the IPL. Flintoff fetched a very high price of $1.55 million, which made him the joint most expensive player of all time (that has since changed). However, Flintoff's IPL career never really took off.

In his debut match against the Mumbai Indians, Flintoff got hit for 4-0-44-1 against a side that contained Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar. A small cameo of 24 off 23 did not really alleviate the humiliation he suffered. Flintoff had a much better game for CSK, taking one wicket for eleven runs and scoring a quick unbeaten 22 at the end of the innings.

His third match though was his last. He bowled one of the most expensive spells of all time with 4-0-50-0 and then again struggled with the bat, making just 16 off 17. This was a poor effort for a player of such high calibre. After this, he flew back from the IPL to have knee surgery and has since called playing in the IPL 'a waste of time'.

#2 Tyron Henderson in 2009

Tyron Henderson celebrates his first IPL wicket - which was also his last

There was lots of hype surrounding South African all-rounder Tyron Henderson, as he was bought for $100,000 by the Rajasthan Royals. After the auction, Henderson was featured as one of the BBC's "five players to look out for" and they described as the closest rival to Andrew Flintoff. Well, the comparison was truer than they could imagine. Like Flintoff, Henderson had a torrid time in the 2009 IPL. He had come into the tournament in great form, as he scored big runs for Middlesex in their 2008 season.

Yet, Henderson only ended up playing two matches. The batting all-rounder only managed to score 11 runs in that time, with each run costing Rajasthan over $9,000. He only picked up one wicket as well. That was in his debut spell of 4-0-30-1 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, and his only IPL victim was Kevin Pietersen.

After that, Henderson only played one more match in which he had a quiet outing. With a meagre haul of eleven runs and two wickets, Henderson was one of the biggest flops in IPL history.

#1 Pawan Negi in 2016

Pawan Negi was the most expensive Indian player in the 2016 IPL Auction

Arguably the biggest flop in the history of the IPL was Pawan Negi in the 2016 edition of the IPL. Negi turned heads in the 2016 IPL Auction when he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for over a million dollars. He was the most expensive Indian player to be bought in that auction. There was a lot of pressure on Negi to deliver after such an impressive price tag, but he didn't.

Negi had a horrendous IPL that year. He only managed to score 57 runs in eight matches and this was at a very underwhelming strike rate of below a hundred - which is not acceptable in t20 cricket. Well, at least he had his part-time spin to redeem him. It didn't. Negi also failed to make any real impact with the ball but was actually a hindrance. He bowled nine overs in the tournament, conceding 84 runs off it at an economy rate of over nine. Moreover, he only took one wicket and thus ended with a shocking bowling average of 84.

Since that season, though, Negi's form has seemingly returned and he had a decent outing last year. Nevertheless, his performance in the 2016 season, after being one of the most expensive players in the auction, gives him the unwanted title of the biggest flop in IPL history.