It’s needless to say that there is a lot of money involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It’s, by far, the richest T20 league across the globe and keeps getting better and bigger every year.
The players often get huge contracts in the IPL auction and most of the time, the contracts are well-deserved, but there have been a few instances where the franchises have made huge error in judgment while signing the players.
Here are 5 worst signings in the history of the IPL:
#1 Yuvraj Singh (IPL 2015):
Yuvraj Singh was not in the greatest of form around that time and was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore after IPL 2014 as he didn’t live up to his huge price tag of 14 Crore INR at RCB.
However, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) still spent a huge amount on Yuvraj in the next auction and bought him for 16 Crore INR ahead of IPL 2015. Although Yuvraj put on a couple of performances here and there, he was nowhere near as consistent as Delhi would have liked him to be.
#2 Tymal Mills (IPL 2017):
This was the time when Tymal Mills had just burst onto the international circuit and had grabbed a few headlines because of his ability not only to bowl at express pace, but also to deliver well-disguised slower deliveries.
The left arm angle was another added advantage. Royal Challengers Bangalore spent 12 Crore INR on Mills, but it didn’t pay off.
#3 Pawan Negi (IPL 2016):
Negi had featured for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2015 and had shown decent abilities with both bat and ball. Not only was he good enough to bowl tight in the middle phase of the innings, he had shown he had the power game to be a good finisher with the bat as well.
Royal Challengers Bangalore spent eight and a half Crore on Negi and although the southpaw showed glimpses of his talent, he couldn’t do total justice to the sum that was paid to him for his services.
#4 Mashrafe Mortaza (IPL 2009)
Kolkata Knight Riders bought the former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza for six hundred thousand dollars ahead of IPL 2009 considering his experience of bowling in subcontinent conditions. But, he couldn’t offer much to the KKR, either with the new ball upfront or in the death.
In one of the games against Deccan Chargers, Mortaza conceded more than 20 in the last over and lost the game for KKR.
#5 Mohammad Asif (IPL 2008):
Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) got a bit carried away with Asif’s reputation in red ball cricket. The Pakistani medium pacer used to get a lot of movement off the deck with the red ball, but in IPL, it was about variations and death bowling as well, apart from the seam movement which Asif was known for.
The Daredevils spent six and a half thousand dollars on Asif, but the seamer didn’t turn out to be as successful as the franchise thought he would be.
