IPL 2023: Top 5 buys who couldn’t justify their price tags

Harry Brook. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

Indian Premier League 2023 has arguably been the best season of IPL so far with CSK lifting the record-equalling 5th Trophy. This is the stage where heroes are born, players unleash their potential. But sometimes, it’s hard for the players to come out and fulfill the expectations, and with the price tags, they are burdened with expectations sometimes.

Players are expected to deliver for the franchise, sometimes it happens, and sometimes it does not. They get stuck in the path to perform that too under pressure. Even from the franchise’s perspective, they get a fixed amount of purse to build the squad. And they pick players whom they think will win matches for them.

Let’s take a look at the top 5 buys of IPL 2023 who couldn’t justify their price tags

5. Mukesh Kumar (5.5 Cr)

Bengal speedster Mukesh Kumar is the only uncapped IPL cricketer to feature in this chart. Delhi Capitals signed him for INR 5.5 CR in the IPL 2023 mini-auction. Earlier in October, he earned his maiden India call-up during the South Africa series at home. He is regarded as someone who’ll don the blue jersey sooner than many cricketers.

Delhi lacking their captain Rishabh Pant wanted to build a strong Indian bowling line-up. They acquired Mukesh and thought of building a core group around him, but their planning failed as the tournament progressed. DC failed to win register their first win for a long time and with that Mukesh’s performance started dipping.

Playing his first IPL season, Mukesh struggled with his line and length as he’s mostly successful for Bengal in the red ball format. He got chances in 10 matches and got batters out 7 seven times to his bowling. Although numbers couldn’t justify his first outing in this mega event, he even couldn’t match his potential this season. He’s a good student of the game, he’s expected to come good next season. 

4. Harry Brook (13.25 Cr)

England’s young batting sensation Harry Brook was the center of attraction ever since he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH got Harry Brook or INR 13.25 CR by beating Rajasthan Royals at the auction table. Since his Test debut, he has taken world cricket by storm. Former legends of the game speak highly of him and regard him as someone who’ll dominate in the years to come.

Brook was coming off from a fabulous PSL and a Pakistan tour. He was expected to perform the same in this cash-rich league. But in his debut season, he hugely disappointed his fans. In the 11 matches that he played, he contributed 190 runs only with a not-so-impressive SR of 123.38. Among these 190 runs, 100 runs came in one innings only against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.

With his playing approach, it seemed there was a lot to work on his batting approach. He’s supremely strong against pace, but he struggles against spin bowling. He hardly moves his feet and gets stuck in his crease. Bowlers in the IPL have found this weakness to get the better of them every time.

3. Jason Holder (5.75 Cr)

The tall Caribbean all-rounder this IPL season played for the Rajasthan franchise. Rajasthan Royals acquired his services at the price of INR 5.75 CR. Last year, Lucknow Super Giants had him at INR 8.75 CR and got benefitted from his 14 wickets. Jason was roped in as a death bowling option by last year’s runner’s up.

But to RR’s disappointment, Jason underperformed by a mile. A bowler par excellence was often utilized in the wrong situations. But an international cricketer like him is expected to deliver in crunch situations and he failed to do so. He picked up 4 wickets in 8 matches.

Holder is known for using his tall height and change of pace to beat batters. But this time, his tricks failed to outfox the batters. They could read his deliveries easily and henceforth got ready to smack them out of the park. And even with his batting, he got to bat once where he could gather only 12 runs.

2. Mayank Agarwal (8.25 Cr)

Mayank Agarwal is among the most expensive Indian buys of this season. The Karnataka boy left the Punjab Kings camp and joined Sunrisers Hyderabad when he was bought by them at INR 8.25 CR. Mayank was the skipper of the Punjab Franchise last year, so he came up with leadership skills as well. He is an Indian experienced hand who has played domestic cricket all his life in the stadiums of India and was expected to come up well.

A forgetful season for SRH saw Mayank’s graph go down and like his franchise, he also struggled to score runs. In the 10 matches he played, he added 270 runs with the bat striking at 128.57. A player of his caliber should have taken more responsibilities.

For Mayank’s horror run, his franchise also needs to be held a bit accountable. Their wrong decision making, shuffling the batting order impacted players’ performances. Besides, before drafting him into the squad, franchises need to keep in mind that he has never had a 300+ season except for the 2019-21 patch, and spending too many bucks on him was a little questionable.

1. Sam Curran (18.5 Cr)

Punjab Kings signed million dolly baby Sam Curran at the IPL 2023 auction. The English all-rounder became the most expensive buy in the history of IPL when he was signed up for a whopping INR 18.5 CR. Prior to that, Curran had a dream run in the recently concluded World T20. He delivered the player of the match performance in the mega-final clash against Pakistan.

PBKS expected a lot from this boy from Northampton. When he was roped in, there were waves of excitement among PBKS owners. But, by the end of the season, they couldn’t keep a wide smile. Though Curran added runs with the bat, he failed to deliver what was expected out of him. In the 14 matches that he played, he scored 276 runs and got 10 wickets.

Even in some matches, he captained the Punjab franchise in the absence of regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan. But he underperformed both as an individual and skipper. From the bowling point of view, he could have been managed in a better way. PBKS underutilized his new ball skills and he even looked clueless as a batter. It seemed there was a lack of clarity about his role in the team.