5 IPL greats who are at the fag end of their careers
The IPL has evolved tremedously through the years. Players were bought based on their reputation in the earlier years of the IPL. But with time teams have become shrewder when it comes to buying players in the auctions. High profile players have gone unsold in auctions while unknown players have earned huge bucks.
With this trend continuing over a long period of time, it has become imperative for every player to keep performing each year in order to get picked by the franchise the next year. Moreover, with age, players lose their shine and it becomes difficult for them to keep up with their own high standards.
We will look at 5 such players who were once cult figures for their respective teams in the IPL, but are now in danger of losing out on an IPL contract next year.
#5 Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan was the Man of the match in the final against CSK in the first season of the IPL.
He played for Rajasthan Royals from 2008 to 2010 and was the second most expensive player of the 2011 auction, when he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a jaw-dropping price of $2,100,000.
The hard-hitting all-rounder played a crucial role in KKR's title victories in 2012 and 2014. Apart from his destructive batting in the middle overs, he also provided the team management the option of few over of off-spin bowling every now and then. He has been an integral part of the KKR set-up for the past seven years.
But with time, the elder Pathan lost his form and questions were raised on his place in the side, owing to which he wasn't retained by KKR in the auction this year. In IPL 2017, Yusuf scored 143 runs in 15 matches with an average of 17.87. Apart from this, his utility as a bowler has reduced over the years.
Even though Yusuf was bought by SRH for 1.9 crores, a bad season might bring down the curtain to Yusuf's IPL career.