IPL 2018: 3 overseas players who sold for high at the auction but failed to perform during the tournament
One of the hottest topics for discussion when it comes to the Indian Premier League is the amount of money which some players manage to sell for at the IPL auction. The top international stars can see themselves making far more than they would under their playing contracts for their national sides - which has been a key feature for what has made this tournament so attractive to so many international players.
The franchises don't seem to mind paying these large amounts of money in the hopes of securing the IPL title for the season. After all, a player is an investment and you need to spend money if you are going to get the best players.
The thing is, an investment does require a return and if a player is going to be paid obscene amounts of money then he would undoubtedly be expected to perform accordingly. This has indeed been the case for some franchises such as Royal Challengers Bangalore who have seen their investments in AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli paying off well for them. Both these stars have proven their worth to their franchise and put in performances to match the money paid for them.
However, there have been other players whose heavy paychecks have not translated into the performances in the field which their franchises might have been hoping for. In this article, we will take a look at three such players who haven't quite managed to justify their cost.
#1 Glenn Maxwell
How much was paid for the player?
Glenn Maxwell went for a phenomenal Rs 9 crore at this year's IPL auction. Interest in the Australian all-rounder was high, with three other franchises showing some intent to secure him for their sides. In the end, it would be the Delhi Daredevils who would procure the Aussie for their side with a bid of Rs 9 crore - which would prove to be one of their costlier buys.
Why was so much paid for the player?
During the early stages of his international career, Glen Maxwell had made a name for himself as being a big-hitting batsman who could score off just about any delivery bowled to him. His brutal style saw him playing innovative shots which had bowling sides scratching their heads as to how to bowl to the man and, soon enough, Maxwell became synonymous with aggressive batting and scoring big runs very quickly.
Maxwell has had a decent IPL career so far especially during the 2014 season where he and David Miller dominated headlines with their batting performances. The paid eventually led the Kings XI Punjab to the final where they lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders, but the memory of Maxwell's exploits with the bat seem to have remained in the minds of everyone.
How has he performed this season?
With scores of 17, 13, 47, 4, 12, 27 and 6 with the bat, and four wickets at an economy rate of 7.22 with the ball, Glenn Maxwell hasn't delivered the performances which his franchise would have been banking on him for. This has also contributed to the Delhi Daredevil's poor season so far and could be one of the reasons that they are currently sitting at the bottom of the points table.
To blame this on Maxwell entirely would be harsh as well as unfair. However, the performances which he has put in have been unacceptable especially given the heavy cost at which he came.