IPL Auction: 5 times teams made the worst choices while picking players
Where performance didn't justify pay-package.
On Saturday, IPL 9 auction was held. Jaws dropped with Pawan Negi becoming the costliest Indian pick in the auction and the likes of virtually unknown players like Nathu Singh and M Ashwin got astronomical bids. Among the foreign talents too, Chris Morris and Carlos Braithwaite got picked up for much higher amount than their more eminent colleagues, some of whom like Sammy and Amla didn't even make the cut.
However, this is not the first time that IPL franchises have baffled fans and pundits with their choices. Some of the punts taken by the teams in the last eight editions have been successful, but on some occasions the players failed to justify their pay-tag in the league. Here are the 5 instances where IPL franchises got a relatively unknown player with a huge pay packet only to feel bitterly heartbroken later.
Tyron Henderson
South African all-rounder Tyron Henderson was purchased by Rajasthan Royals for $650,000 in IPL 2. His base price was $100,000. He was picked based on his impressive performance for Middlesex. However, he hardly did any halla bol for Shilpa Shetty's outfit, playing just two matches, making 11 runs and getting one wicket! No surprise, RR didn't bother to extend his contract in the next edition.
Mashrafe Mortaza
In IPL 2, Kings XI Punjab and KKR battled for 83 bids, before KKR managed to purchase the Bangladeshi all- rounder for $600,000. His base price was only $50,000. However, he only paid one match for KKR, going for 58 runs of 4 overs. In that match, he couldn't defend 21 runs of the last over as he got hammered by Rohit Sharma. The match sealed Mortaza's fate in the KKR team.
Richard Levi
South African Richard Levi shot to fame after scoring the fastest 100 in the T20 history against New Zealand, a record which has been broken subsequently. He was snapped reportedly for $400,000 by Mumbai Indians for IPL 5. However, Levi was never a good player of spin bowling and could manage only 83 runs in 6 matches.
Moises Henriques
Aussie all-rounder Moises Henriques was picked by KKR in IPL 2 for $300,000. He failed to make much of an impact. In four matches, Moises scored 38 with a highest of 30 not out. He managed to get 2 wickets only at an economy of 8.79 per over.
KC Cariappa
KKR picked up unknown Karnataka spinner KC Cariappa for a whopping Rs 2.4 crore in IPL 8. However, he didn't enjoy much confidence of captain Gambhir and the leggie only played one game.
Can you remember any such howlers? Tell us in the comments section.