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Five players who may struggle to live up to their price tags in upcoming Indian T20 League
The Indian T20 League is right around the corner with the opening match to be played on March 26. This weekend, the schedule of the leagues was announced by the tournament governing council. Last month, a mega auction was conducted and a lot of players went for higher prices than expected. On the other hand, other players went for lower prices as expected.
Before the auction, the team owners were allowed to retain a maximum of four players. This was done to provide a fairground for new franchises such as Lucknow and Gujarat. In the auction, a lot of players were signed by teams, they haven’t been part of before. Notably, some players have been bought back by their franchises, even when they had to shell out millions of rupees. In this listicle, we will discuss the five names that might not be able to justify their price tags.
List of five players
1. Nicholas Pooran
The Trinidad and Tobago-born player was bought by Hyderabad for INR 10.75 crores. He has been part of Mumbai and Punjab before, however, he never got a game for the former. From 2019 to 2021, he played for Punjab and amassed 606 runs in 33 games averaging 22.44 and striking at 145.98 with two fifties. The left-hander’s record in the cash-rich league suggests that he might not be able to justify his price tag.
2. Rahul Tewatia
The Haryana-born player was Gujarat at 9 crores. He entered the auction at a base price of 40 lakh. The left-hander has played for Rajasthan, Punjab, and Delhi before from 2014 to 2021. In these years, the 28-year-old has played 48 games and amassed 521 runs averaging 23.68. He has the reputation of striking the ball but his career strike-rate of 124.34 suggest otherwise. His numbers as a bowlers are not impressive either with only 32 wickets.Â
3. Liam Livingstone
The explosive batter from England was bought by Punjab at 11.5 crores. The right-hander entered at the auction at a base price of one crore. He has reputation of being a hard-hitter of the ball. Last year, in the inaugural season of the The Hundred, he was the highest six hitter. Talking about his ITL numbers, the Lancashire-player has played only nine games for Rajasthan in 2019 and 2021 seasons. He has mustered only 113 runs striking at 126.96 and averaging 14.11. Not to forget, he was found wanting on slow pitches of the UAE last year.
4. Tim DavidÂ
The Singapore-born player was signed by Mumbai for 8.25 crores. He entered the auction at a bas price of 40 lakh. Just like Livingstone, he has a reputation of hitting big in the shortest format with a strike rate of 158.5 in T20Is. However, he is highly untested in the Indian subcontinent condition with only one game last year.
5. Khaleel Ahmed
The left-arm medium pacer was bought by Delhi for 5.25 crores. He entered the auction at a base price of 50 lakhs. From 2018 to 2021, he played only 24 games for Hyderabad. However, he has picked 32 wickets but his economy rate of 8.68 suggests that he needs to work on his bowling.
