IPL 2017 is coming to an end. Rising Pune Supergiant has already reached the finals and Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns with Mumbai Indians in Qualifier-2 to book finals' berth on Sunday, May 21.
Eight teams had collectively spent Rs 91.15 crore to buy 66 players. Ben Stokes stole all the limelight receiving massive bid to become the costliest player of the season. There were others who drew a hefty paycheck. Let’s see how the costliest overseas players fared in the tournament.
1. Ben StokesRising Pune Supergiant roped him in for a whopping price of Rs 14.5 crore making him the costliest buy of the season, and only next to Yuvraj Singh in the IPL auction history. Initially struggling to find rhythm, he repaid every penny to the Pune team with brilliant all round performance.
He scored 316 runs with the bat at a strike rate of 142.99 reaching the 50 and 100-run once in the 11 innings he played. He scalped 12 wickets in 12 innings at a decent economy of 7.18.
Decisive performance in matches - 3
2. Tymal MillsRoyal Challengers Bangalore was in dire need of a fast bowler who could lead the attack after Mitch Starc ended his contract with the franchise just a day before the auction. RCB bagged Tymal Mills for Rs 12 crore on the back of his decent performances in the India series. He could not replicate his performances and the team utterly failed to repeat last season’s performance.
His first IPL stint was cut short by injury and he could take only 5 wickets in the 5 innings he featured in. He was highly expensive with an economy of 8.58 and his slower short balls didn’t quite work.
Decisive performance in matches - 0
3. Trent BoultBought for Rs 5 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders, the former number one bowler could not produce that spark in his bowling. As a result, he was benched for most of the KKR games. He has taken just 5 wickets this season in 6 innings at a strike rate of 43.2.
His economy has been more than 9, which is very expensive for a bowler of his calibre. He can still feature in Qualifier-2 considering the unavailability of Chris Woakes and can put up some strong performance.
Decisive performance in matches - 0
4. Kagiso RabadaKagiso Rabada formed one of the fiercest bowling line-up for Delhi Daredevils having been cost them Rs 5 crore. Call it luck; he didn’t get any chances to showcase his talent due to IPL restriction on four foreign players in a team.
He got little opportunity and took 6 wickets in 6 innings at an expensive rate of 8.81. He had to take up the bat as well due to poor batting display by the team and scored 55 runs in 3 innings.
Decisive performance in matches - 0
5. Pat CumminsPat Cummins was recently termed as ‘once in a generation’ bowler by Brett Lee. He was roped in by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 4.5 crore. He has been the fastest bowler in the tournament, troubling batsman with his pace and bounce. He took 15 wickets in 12 innings at a decent economy of 8.08. Only one out of his 15 wickets has come of a bowl slower than 140 Kph. He has hit the deck hard and bowled short.
Decisive performance in matches - 1
6. Chris WoakesOn the back of some brilliant performances for the national team, Chris Woakes was picked up by KKR for Rs 4.25 crore to strengthen their squad in the absence of Andre Russell. He has taken 17 wickets in 13 innings and then returned to his country.
His economy of 8.77 was a little on the upper side because he under pitched Yorkers and went for runs. Like Boult, he suffered from sloppy fielding of the team. A strong top order meant he could not showcase his skills with the bat and scored 46 runs in 7 innings.
Decisive performance in matches - 0
7. Rashid KhanThe 19-year old Afghan sensation made headlines when he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4 crore. He has completely justified his price tag scalping 17 wickets from 14 innings at a wonderful economy of 6.63. He became an integral part of the team and didn’t let the absence of Mustafizur Rehman have any impact. He has deceived batsman by his variations.
Decisive performance in matches - 3
BW Reporters
The author is a correspondent with BW Businessworld with keen interest in HR and employee welfare.
