Over the course of two months and 74 matches later, yet another exhilarating season of the Indian Premier League has come to an end. Yesterday night, Kolkata Knight Riders thumped Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium to secure their third title. For the past two months, the fans were treated to some amazing matches which saw some great performances as well.
Before the tournament even began, the teams went head-to-head in the Indian Premier League 2024 Auctions. Most of the teams went to the event with high funds but some resorted to making strategic signings. There were some poor buys from the teams, however, some players who got the big bucks delivered at the biggest stage.
Here’s the ranking of the most expensive buys of the season based on their performance:
10. Spencer Johnson (GT)
Spenser Johnson. (Source -IPL)
All the pressure was on Gujarat Titans to make a great bowling attack during the Indian Premier League 2024 Auctions after Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the tournament earlier on. The team spent INR 10 Crores on Spencer Johnson, who is an up-and-coming pacer from Australia. It was surely a gamble that the franchise took and one that did not pay off for them. The Australian speedster managed to play just five games and managed four wickets with a mediocre economy of over nine per over. There are fewer chances that the franchise would retain the pacer ahead of the next season.
9. Kumar Kushagra (DC)
Kumar Kushagra. (Source – IPL/BCCI)
The Delhi Capitals team management had no confirmation about the fitness and the availability of skipper Rishabh Pant. The franchise decided to have around eight keepers in the squad and bought a promising young wicket-keeper batter for a whopping INR 7.20 Crores. However, he did not start the majority of the games for the Delhi Capitals this season. The batter played in four matches and was able to bat only on three occasions. Across the three innings, he was able to score just three runs which is a shocking return for the investment the franchise had made.
8. Alzarri Joseph (RCB)
Alzarri Joseph. (Source – Twitter/X)
Everyone was left shell-shocked when Royal Challengers Bengaluru decided to splash the cash on Alzarri Joseph. The franchise wanted to sign Pat Cummins initially but the Australian team captain seemed to be a little out of their budget. They ended up signing the West Indies pacer for a whopping INR 11.50 Crores but it was a poor investment that the franchise made. The speedster started five games and could only manage one wicket and had a very poor economy of 11.90.
7. Manimaran Siddharth (LSG)
Manimaran Siddharth. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
Lucknow Super Giants did not have a heap of funds going into the Indian Premier League 2024 Auctions but wanted to solidify their squad with some good buys. Their most expensive buy during the auctions was Manimaran Siddharth as they signed him for INR 2.40 Crores. However, the off-spinner was surely underutilised by the team as he showed promise during the three games he played and got the prized wicket of Virat Kohli as well in one of the games. It would be a very unlikely scenario that the youngster would be retained by the Lucknow Super Giants.
6. Rovman Powell (RR)
Rovman Powell. (Source -Getty Images)
The first name that popped up during the Indian Premier League 2024 Auctions was Rovman Powell. The West Indies’ T20I captain was signed for a massive INR 7.40 Crores during the event and it was hoped that he would start the majority of the games for the franchise throughout the tournament. However, that was not the case as he played nine games and scored just over 100 runs with a high score of only 27. There is very little chance that the batting all-rounder will be retained by the franchise next season.
5. Daryl Mitchell (CSK)
Daryl Mitchell. (Source -IPL)
After Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement following the completion of the 2023 Indian Premier League season, the Chennai Super Kings were looking to sign an explosive batter who could perform in the middle order. They purchased Daryl Mitchell for a mammoth INR 14 Crores in the hope that he would lead the batting if early wickets fell through. Even though he had a decent season, he was not able to consistently perform for his team and that meant that the defending champions failed to qualify for the playoffs as well.
4. Gerald Coetzee (MI)
Gerald Coetzee. ( Source – IPL/BCCI)
There was a lot of talk prior to the Indian Premier League 2024 Auctions about Gerald Coetzee. The South African had a glorious 2023 and was rewarded with an INR 5.50 Crores contract with the Mumbai Indians for the 2024 edition. He was a lethal player in the bowling attack along with Jasprit Bumrah and was one of the nominees for the Emerging Player of the Season award as well. The pacer was later on dropped without any justified reason and it was a shock to the fans as well since he had claimed 13 wickets across the 10 games he played in the tournament.
3. Mitchell Starc (KKR)
Mitchell Starc. (Source -IPL/BCCI)
After announcing his return to the Indian Premier League after an 8-year hiatus, Mitchell Starc became the most expensive buy of not only the 2024 Auctions but in the history of the Indian Premier League. The Australian was bought for a record-breaking sum of INR 24.75 Crores. He did not have the best of starts after making the comeback in the competition but surely found form during the second half. The pacer was sensational in the playoffs as he won back-to-back POTM awards as his side won the championship this year.
2. Harshal Patel (PBKS)
Harshal Patel. (Source -Twitter/X)
After being released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Harshal Patel signed for the Punjab Kings. He was purchased by the franchise for a whopping INR 10.50 Crore and was expected to lead the bowling attack. The Team India pacer surely delivered for the team as he was able to scalp 24 wickets across the 14 matches he played in the tournament and also took home the purple cap award at the end of the tournament. He might be one of the players that Punjab Kings look to retain ahead of the next season.
1. Pat Cummins (SRH)
Pat Cummins. (Source -Getty Images)
All eyes were on Pat Cummins as the Australian team captain became the second-most expensive buy of the IPL 2024 Auctions. Sunrisers Hyderabad bought the pacer after a massive bidding war involving Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The investment surely paid off as the pacer was one of the highest wicket-takers for the franchise and led the team to the final of the competition. He was unlucky not to win the tournament but nonetheless, it was an exciting campaign for him.