The mega auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) took place on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. In the two-day affair, a number of players went under the hammer. Some of the cricketers didn’t earn the amounts they were expected to.
But prices of few players went through the roof despite them not being overly prolific names. The teams entered in bidding wars as the auctioneer had to wait quite a bit for the biddings to end.
In the article, let’s take a look at 5 players who earned more than they deserved in the IPL 2022 auction
1. Khaleel Ahmed- 5.25 crore
Left-armer Khaleel Ahmed emerged as a promising left-arm pacer back in 2018, but his career hasn’t quite taken off. In 11 ODIs and 14 T20Is, the southpaw has picked up 28 wickets and hasn’t played in the format since November 2019.
In the IPL, Khaleel was with the Sunrisers Hyderabad where he played 24 games and picked up 32 wickets at an economy rate of 8.69. Most importantly, he wasn’t a regular member of the Orange Army. The price of INR 5.25 crore may just be a bit high for him.
2. Deepak Chahar- 14 crore
Deepak Chahar made a name for himself while playing for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since the 2018 edition of the IPL. He started as someone, who bowled in the powerplay, but gradually, he transformed himself into a great death bowler as well.
In 63 IPL matches, Chahar picked up 59 wickets at an economy rate of 7.80. Moreover, he has also played some handy knocks with the bat. But CSK shelled out INR 14 crore for him, an amount which may be a tad on the higher side for the Rajasthan-born Chahar.
3. Rahul Tewatia – 9 crore
Rahul Tewatia made a name for himself after he took the Rajasthan Royals (RR) home during a game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in 2020. In that match, he smashed West Indies fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in one over.
Tewatia was also effective with the ball last time around. But in the 2021 edition, Tewatia had his troubles both with bat and ball and the Royals released him. Gujarat Titans bought him for INR 9 crores and the team might have unnecessarily used up a chunk of their purse.
4. Prasidh Krishna- 10 crore
Prasidh Krishna came in as a replacement after both Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti couldn’t take part in the 2018 edition of the IPL. The Karnataka pacer impressed one and all with his sheer pace and bounce. Later he also got called up to the Indian team.
Last year, Krishna was sidelined after Ravindra Jadeja took him apart in one of the games. He used to earn INR 20 lakhs last season, and would be earning INR 10 crore in 2022. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) bagged him after a bidding war with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2022 auction.
5. Krunal Pandya- 8.25 crore
Krunal Pandya plied his trade for the Mumbai Indians (MI) for six years from 2016 to 2021. Even as he delivered some match-winning performances, he failed to replicate the same in the previous season. Subsequently, the Mumbai-based team released him of his services.
He set himself a base price of INR 2 crore in the IPL 2022 auction, after which the Punjab Kings, Chennai Super Kings, Super Giants, Sunrisers and Titans were involved in a bidding war. In the end, the Super Giants roped Pandya in INR 8.25 crore, a number that seemed a tad higher for the all-rounder.
