IPL 2019: 3 players who flopped last season but may return with a bang

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Rohit Sharma

Quite often we have seen IPL franchises spending a massive amount to procure a player but it eventually does not pay off. 

Fans often expect a lot from players on the basis of their price tags. We take a look at 3 of the biggest flops of the previous edition of IPL who may return with a bang in the upcoming edition.

These players faltered during the IPL 2018 but are back on track and in good form now. After letting their respective teams down last time around, the onus lies on them to come up with stellar performances and justify their price tags in IPL 2019. 

Without further ado, here are the three players:

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#3 Manish Pandey 

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey was procured by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 11 crore - a spectacular 11 times his base price of Rs. 1 crore - during the 2018 IPL auctions. He has been retained for the same price ahead of IPL 2019. 

The top-order batsman failed to justify his high price tag last time around. The Nainital-born player could only manage to score 284 runs in 15 matches at a dismal average of 25.81 and a lacklustre strike rate of 115.44. 

Pandey became the first Indian player to score an IPL century when he smashed an unbeaten 114 against the Deccan Chargers during the 2009 edition. 

There have been high expectations from the 29-year-old ever since. He has even made sporadic appearances for the Men in Blue in ODIs and T20Is. Pandey is known to be an athletic fielder as well as an aggressive batsman. 

His performance during the 2017 edition of IPL, when he was with Kolkata Knight Riders, was far superior to his previous outing. Pandey amassed 396 runs at an average of 49.50 and strike rate of 128.57. He was an important figure in helping KKR reach the semis and had finished as the 7th highest run-getter of the tournament. 

The right-hand batsman has been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 11 crore. Expectations will be high once again. Pandey has been in superior form as well. The Karnataka captain hit a cracking 111 off 46 deliveries against Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He also played some sublime knocks during the Ranji Trophy. 

Karnataka advanced to the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by virtue of winning 7 out of 7 group D matches. They take on Mumbai on March 8 at the Holkar Stadium in Indore and he will once again have the opportunity to prove his mettle. 

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