IT IS a fact that every IPL brings with it some new or uncapped players who, by their sheer performance, command notice over others. Be it Yusuf Pathan?s hard-hitting act in the first edition, Manish Pandey?s ton in 2009 or Paul Valthaty?s incredible run in 2011, the popular Twenty20 game has always brought plenty of surprises to the fore.
The latest and the seventh edition, which ends today with a final between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, is no exception.This year, the dates for the tournament clashed with those of the Lok Sabha elections in India, due to which half of the matches had to be shifted to the UAE for security reasons. Moreover, the ouster of N Srinivasan from all matters of BCCI, and IPL in particular, added to the worries of the game and the franchises.
However, what is interesting is that the list for worst buys this year excels that of the best ones. Here?s a quick checklist…
BEST BUYS
Y Chahal
Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Bought for: R10 lakh
Matches: 14
Wickets: 12
The leg-spinner from Haryana played in every one of RCB?s 14 matches this season. He has an economy of 7.01 this season, and took some big wickets like Kieron Pollard, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell, among others.
Suryakumar Yadav
Team: Kolkata Knight Riders
Bought for: R70 lakh
Matches: 15
Runs: 159
A former Mumbai Indians player, 23-year-old Suryakumar Yadav has a strike rate of 143.24 and has been not out five times this season. His 17-ball-34 runs almost took his team to a miraculous win over Kings XI Punjab in their first clash. He has an average of 39.75 this season.
Praveen Tambe
Team: Rajasthan Royals
Bought for: R10 lakh
Matches: 13
Wickets: 15
The oldest player this season, Tambe, 42, plays with the heart of a teenager. He not only broke important partnerships when needed, but also saved a lot of runs in the field. He was also the first bowler in IPL 2014 to notch up a hat-trick and has bagged two Man of the Match awards.
Karun Nair
Team: Rajasthan Royals
Bought for: R75 lakh
Matches: 11
Runs: 330
The 22-year-old opener, who plays for Karnataka, was bought for just R75 lakh. In the 11 innings he has played this season, Nair has scored 330 runs at an average of 33. With a healthy strike rate of 142.24, he is a perfect at the top.
Akshar Patel
Team: Kings XI Punjab
Bought for: R75 lakh
Matches: 16
Wickets: 17
Slow left-arm orthodox bowler Akshar Patel is another bowler from Punjab who has proved that there is still space for slow bowling in international cricket. In this season thus far, Patel played 16 matches and grabbed 17 wickets at an average of 22.58 with an economy of 6.19 RPO.
WORST BUYS
Murali Vijay
Team: Delhi Daredevils
Bought for: R5 crore
Matches: 11
Runs: 207
Murali Vijay was the first player to go under the hammer this season. His base price was R2 crore, but Delhi bought him for a whopping R5 crore. However, Vijay scored just 207 runs this season with an average of 18.81 in 11 matches. The right-handed batsmen earlier opened for Chennai Super Kings and was quite successful, but he failed to make a mark this year.
Amit Mishra
Team: Sunrisers Hyderabad
Bought for: R4.75 crore
Matches: 10
Wickets: 7
After an impressive showing at the World T20 in Bangladesh, Amit Mishra was expected to continue his form. But he played miserably in IPL. Though he had three IPL hat-tricks to his name, he did not meet expectations and just took seven wickets in 10 games. The biggest black mark against him, though, was his economy rate of 9.06, with an average of 48.57.
Chris Gayle
Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Bought for: R9.5 crore (retained)?
Matches: 9
Runs: 196
With an average of 21.77 in nine matches the opening batsmen from West Indies totally failed to do like what he did in the earlier editions. He was mediocre in his batting and was falling prey to simple bowling. RCB never looked as good it did in the earlier editions.?
Dinesh Karthik
Team: Delhi Daredevils
Bought for: R12.5 crore
Matches: 14
Runs: 325
The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batsmen was the highest buy for Delhi, but was not quite impressive with the bat. With an average of 23.21 in 14 matches, the Chennai-born cricketer failed to keep going and often threw his wicket despite getting an eye in.
Kevin Pietersen
Team: Delhi Daredevils
Bought for: R9 crore
Matches: 11
Runs: 294
The former England captain, Kevin Pietersen was one of the highest buys this season, but proved to be a dampener. With an average of 29.4 in 11 matches, the 33-year-old was not in his usual touch. His finger injury
also caused him trouble early
in the tournament.