Advertisement
The IPL 2022 series has been entertaining the fans for the last 2 months with unexpected twists and turns. This year saw 10 teams compete to win the trophy twice as much as last season. It came as a shock to many that successful IPL teams like Mumbai and Chennai finished last in the points table with a series of defeats at the outset and exited the league round. However, the Gujarat Titans, led by inexperienced captain Hardik Pandya in their first year, were surprised to beat Rajasthan in the final on home soil to win the trophy.
With the exception of certain players like Jose Butler in this series it can be said that most players did not perform well for the salary they were paid in the millions. Ishant Kishan, who was bought for a whopping Rs 15.25 crore, played mostly Test innings except for the first match, causing a major setback for Mumbai and ending up in the points table. Similarly, a few players like Deepak Sahar had to retire due to injury after contracting for large sums.
– Advertisement –
1 crore without playing:
Earlier in the series, 204 players were auctioned off, with the exception of 50-60%, mostly players sitting on benches. However more than 50% of the players who were bought for Rs 20-90 lakhs banged in at least one match. But of the players who bought over 1 crore, all but 3 played at least one match. Let’s look at 3 people who paid a crore without even playing in a match like that.
1. Rajwardhan Hungerker: At the ICC Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies last February, the Chennai management bought him for a whopping Rs 1.5 crore during a bid as a fast bowler in Asathi. Former players have predicted that Deepak Sahar, who was bought for Rs 14 crore, will be able to bat as substantially as him due to injury. But the Chennai team management, which had given a chance to young players like Mukesh Chaudhary, did not give him a last chance.
– Advertisement –
He asked the Chennai administration whether the fans who saw him waving the flag and whistling to the fans in particular bought it. MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming said that he did not want to be wasted immediately in a world-class series like the IPL as he has the talent to perform only at the under-19 level. So he is waiting for a chance next year and has already earned Rs 1.7 crore under this IPL contract at this age.
2. Jayan Yadav: He has been playing for teams like Delhi and Mumbai since last 2015 and so far no team management has given him more than 5 matches in a season. The Gujarat Titans have bought him for Rs 1.70 crore this year, having taken 8 wickets in 19 matches so far in a good economy of 6.87.
– Advertisement –
But Rahul Diwadia and Sai Kishore did not get a chance as they played with a quality spinner named Rashid Khan. The reason is that they performed well enough to win the championship and he did not even play a single match till the end and earned Rs 1.70 crores with the IPL trophy.
Congrats to Dominic Drakes who has now won 2 IPL titles in a row
2021 with Chennai
2022 with Gujarat
West Indians win you T20 titles pic.twitter.com/94BjV1ZDQF
— Caribbean Cricket Podcast (@CaribCricket) May 29, 2022
3. Dominic Trex: The young West Indies batsman did not get a chance in a single match when he was part of the Chennai team last year. However, Chennai, which won the 2021 IPL trophy, released him during a recent auction. So the Gujarat Titans bought him for a good sum of Rs 1.10 crore. An all-rounder, Hardik Pandya did not get a chance in the Gujarat team as he was there.
However he won the trophy in Chennai without even playing a single match and is currently winning the trophy in Gujarat as well and is happily returning home earning Rs 1.10 crore this year.
Advertisement