IPL 2018: 5 players and their performances in the season in accordance with their price tag

Before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 auction, all the eight franchises were busy in their different analysis and plannings to choice out first their retentions and then the players to buy at the auction. Most of the teams got their choices right in the auction proceedings and picked out a certain bunch of players to build a strong combination for a successful campaign. However, on the field, there were many players who took the centre stage for their respective sides and performed spectacularly well in the league stages of the tournament.

While, there were also a few players who picked up by their franchises for a hefty amount in the auction, but they failed to contribute in accordance with their high value and reputation. It is very important for a team that its star players especially the big buys provide match-winning performances to cement their chances of qualifying for the business end of the tournament.

Here are some players and their performances in the season so far in respect to their ‘value for money’:

Ben Stokes- The most expensive buy becomes a heavy baggage for RR

In the 2018 auction, Ben Stokes once again ended up as the most expensive pick this season as he was procured by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for INR 12.5 crores. Considering his high price, the England all-rounder failed massively both with the bat and ball, which also jolted the balance of the team.

The left-handed batsman who won the Player of the Tournament last season scored just 196 runs and scalped 13 wickets in 13 matches played this year. Stokes’ dismal performance cost the Royals INR 6.37 lakh per run, while for all of his wickets had cost them 1.56 crore.

Rishabh Pant storms to rise on every occasion in IPL 2018

Delhi Daredevils (DD) is a franchise who retained two of their youngsters in, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer to lead a rejuvenated side in IPL 2018. Pant was retained by DD for a price of INR 8 crore and the left-hander played superbly throughout the season to provide full clarity of each and every penny that the franchise had spent to retain him.

He amassed 684 runs in 14 matches at an explosive strike rate of 173.60, which also included a hundred-plus score. Despite DD ending up last in the points tally, Pant was surely the biggest positive for the side as each of his runs cost DD INR 1.16 lakh.

Jos Buttler plays the leading role to lift the RR side

After the first half of the tournament, the Rajasthan Royals seemed to be losing the momentum as their star players were not contributed according to the high expectations. However, wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler who played in the side as a finisher in the first few games was promoted to open in the second half.

The English batsman responded to the decision in the best possible fashion and scored five consecutive fifties to provide some winning momentum to his side. Buttler smacked 548 runs in 13 games and each of those runs amounts for INR 80 thousand, while he was bought for a price of INR 4.40 crores at the auction, however, the franchise will still be missing his services in the playoffs.

Rohit Sharma’s failure with bat costs MI the title

The defending champions, Mumbai Indians (MI) shelled out INR 15 crores to retain their skipper Rohit Sharma to defend their title. However, the skipper failed miserably this season as he managed to score only 286 runs in 14 innings at an average of 23.43.

It was also the first season of the IPL, where Rohit could not even cross the tally of 300 runs, which also probably caused the panic jitters in the dressing room, as he is an important batsman of the team to take his team towards the finishing line. Rohit’s lacklustre season amounted to INR 5.24 lakh for his every run as expenditure for MI.

Hardik Pandya falters to contribute the desired performances

Mumbai Indians (MI) also showed faith in retaining current Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya for a whopping amount of INR 11 crores. Pandya’s performance with the bat was surely declining with every successive game, as he scored only 260 runs in 13 innings. However, the all-rounder did take bigger strides as a wicket-taking bowler for his franchise and scalped 18 wickets in the season.

But Pandya Jr. ended up with a bewildering season on the all-round aspects and each of his runs scored costed MI INR 4.23 lakh, while all of his wickets were worth INR 6.11 lakh.

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