5 uncapped Indian players who did not justify their hefty price tags in the IPL
Uncapped players seem to have hit the jackpot in the IPL 9 auctions as they were purchased for huge winning bids. The most outrageous of them all was the price of Rs. 8.5 crores that the Delhi Daredevils dished out for Pawan Negi.Negi can be a valued asset to any side with his leg-break and power-hitting abilities but the sum paid for him, it has to be admitted, is outlandish. Interestingly, the last three auctions have displayed a tendency of the IPL franchises to shower the cash on uncapped or relatively unknown players.How wise is it to pay such huge sums for uncapped players? Even when such players have done well in the IPL in the past, history tells us that very often they failed to repay the faith shown in them, perhaps having been overburdened with expectations bought by the huge price tags.Here are 5 uncapped Indian players in IPL history who failed to justify their hefty price tags:
#5 Rajat Bhatia
Rajat Bhatia was another classic case of an uncapped player being bought for a huge price because of his good performances who failed to justify his price tag for his new franchise. Bhatia had been in good form in the IPL with his slow medium pace during the middle overs and his ability to wield the willow towards the end.
Fending off rival bids from KKR and DD, the Rajasthan Royals snapped him up for Rs. 1.7 crore in the IPL 7 auctions. Bhatia was expected to play a leading role as an all-rounder for the Royals. But his form fell away and by 2015 and he was left fighting for his place in the team.
In the 2014 season, Bhatia picked up 12 wickets from 12 matches and scored 67 runs at an average of 13.40. In 2015, he played only 2 matches where he failed to score any runs or pick any wickets. Bhatia has now been bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs. 60 lakh.