RevSportz Comment
Earlier this year, Real Madrid signed Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of £88m. With add-ons based on the player’s performance, Dortmund could eventually make as much as £114m from the deal. At the time, some thought it was a lot of money to invest in someone who was just about to turn 20. But Real knew what they were doing. With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the last lap of their careers, and Kylian Mbappe seemingly unsure of whether he values on-field honours or off-field rewards more, Bellingham is football’s future. A return of 17 goals and five assists in 20 matches is ample vindication of Real’s faith that he’ll keep them at the forefront of European football for another decade.
Why, then, is IPL recruitment still such a lottery? Despite having large scouting teams and increasingly sophisticated number-crunching methods, why do so many franchises continue to get it spectacularly wrong at the auctions? From the very beginning, it’s almost as though the biggest price tags have been a huge inhibitor for those players, no matter how great their pedigree in the international arena. Here, RevSportz looks at five such buys over the years – those expected big hits that turned out to be hugely expensive mistakes.
Andrew Flintoff
Hero of England’s Ashes victory in 2005, Flintoff was already 31 when Chennai Super Kings broke the bank to pay $1.55m for him at the 2009 auction in Goa. His talent had never been in doubt, but question marks about his durability had dogged him ever since his debut a decade earlier. Flintoff ended up playing three matches for CSK, scoring 62 runs and taking two wickets. He then limped out of the tournament, which had been moved to South Africa. His international career would be over a few months later.
Yuvraj Singh
In 2014, Royal Challengers Bangalore splashed out 14 crores ($2.3m) to buy Yuvraj. The batting star of India’s World T20 win in 2007 had endured a tough time in 2013 on his return after cancer treatment. Yuvraj had a decent enough season with Bangalore, but after they opted not to keep him, Delhi Daredevils stumped up 16 crores (nearly $2.5m) for his services. Clearly past his peak, Yuvraj managed a dismal 248 runs in 13 innings.
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
Chris Morris
When Rajasthan Royals shelled out Rupees 16.25 crores ($2.2m) for Morris, the South African all-rounder, before the 2021 season, it made him the most expensive player in IPL history. But when you dedicate that much of your budget to one individual, you expect season-defining, trophy-winning displays. Morris took 15 wickets in 11 games at an economy rate of 9.17, and made 67 runs. He never played in the IPL again.
Ben Stokes
A 14.5-crore ($2.25m) buy for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, ‘Box Office Ben’ enjoyed a stellar season as the franchise came within a run of a victory that would have been embarrassing in the extreme for the authorities – the team was scrubbed out of existence after two years, with CSK and RR returning from their bans. But in four years at Rajasthan, he seldom made defining contributions. Given his struggles with his knee, CSK’s decision to spend 16.25 crores ($1.97m) on Stokes last December always seemed misguided. He bowled one over for 18, and scored 15 runs from 14 balls. Enough said.
Sam Curran
When Punjab Kings paid 18.5 crores ($2.23m) for Sam Curran in December 2022, it was on the back of his man-of-the-tournament showing at the T20 World Cup in Australia. But the warning signs were there. In three previous IPL seasons, only once – with CSK in 2020 – had Curran’s economy rate not hovered around 10 an over. Back in Punjab colours, he managed 276 runs at a decent strike-rate, but the 10 wickets from 14 games came along with an economy rate of 10.22. Having been retained for the upcoming season, Curran will need to provide far more bang for buck if Punjab are to end a playoff drought stretching back a decade.
Also Read: Dubai Auction the First Step in the IPL Spreading Its Wings