The IPL 2023 is into its business end of the tournament, in the ongoing third week of May. The Delhi Capitals are the first team to be eliminated while Sunrisers Hyderabad are to follow them soon. Once again, it is Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans that is ruling the top of the points table followed by the resurging Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
The tournament has seen some exceptional performances from those players who were picked up as low prices, and, as expected, some of the expensive signings have underperformed, or delivered well beyond what was expected of them.
Here are 3 expensive players who have been a flop in IPL 2023:
Sam Curran
Sam Curran became the most expensive player in the IPL history when Punjab Kings picked him up at 18.5 crore in the IPL 2023 auction. The auction had happened after Curran produced a Man of the Tournament show in the World T20 in Australia.
However, the England all-rounder has failed to replicate his international success into the IPL 2023: with the bat, Curran scored 216 runs at a strike rate of 129; it is with the ball that he’s been underwhelming: 7 wickets in 12 matches at an economy of 10.21.
Ben Stokes
The England Test captain Ben Stokes was roped in for INR 16.25 crore by CSK in the IPL 2023 auction. Stokes only played a couple of matches at the start of the tournament, but was then sidelined due to injury. When he was fit, however, Stokes couldn’t get into the side because Conway, Ali, Pathirana and Theekshana had cemented their places.
In 2 knocks, Stokes scored 15 runs and bowled 1 over for 18 runs.
Harry Brook
Harry Brook was bought for a whopping INR 13.25 crore by SRH in the IPL 2023 auction on the back of his stunning form in Test cricket in England’s Bazball team. Brook played one match winning innings – a century at the flat Eden Gardens track – and in rest 8 innings, the England star failed miserably – not managing over 20 in any of his rest 8 innings, his struggles against spinners being conspicuous. He was eventually dropped from the XI after two consecutive ducks.
