The IPL 2018 auction was a mega-auction, was a first after a period of four years. It was last in 2014 when a mega-auction was held. Ben Stokes, once again, was the highest paid player in the auction as he was purchased by Rajasthan Royals for an amount of Rs 12.5 Crore.

The eleventh edition of the IPL saw many Indian players going at a huge price. From Jaydev Unadkat to KL Rahul to Manish Pandey, Indians topped the charts but only a few, including foreign players, could really do justice with the amount that was spent on them. For a few senior players, it was an emotional homecoming but they too failed to make it a memorable one.

The season was a mixed one for few players while some of them did wonders. Today, we have a look at players who could not perform well and are in line to be released by their franchises before next year’s auction.

Yuvraj Singh – It was not a homecoming that Yuvraj wanted after he donned the jersey of Kings XI Punjab again, after a period of eight years. He struggled right throughout the tournament and somehow managed to score 65 runs from six innings. He was also dropped for Manoj Tiwary a couple of times during the tournament. This IPL showed that his days in this tournament are over and T20 is not the best format for him to continue playing.

Gautam Gambhir – Just like Yuvraj, Gambhir too didn’t have a great homecoming. In fact, he was kept out for a major part of the tournament, despite him being available to play the games. He was not included in the playing XI even for even one match after he left captaincy, which he revealed later.

Not for his form, but for him revealing this fact could really see the franchise not retaining him for next IPL. He, also, might not want to play for a team where he was roped in as captain but was later dropped from the playing XI.

Manish Pandey – The owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad based franchise spent big bucks on the India batsman to acquire his services and spent Rs 11 Crore on him. Though, the batsman failed and could just muster 284 runs from 13 innings. He couldn’t win even a single match for his side and was the biggest disappointment of the season.

The franchise finally took a bold step in the last two matches and did not include him in the playing XI, even in the final. In all probability, he is in line to be released by the franchise before the next season.

Ben Stokes – The England all-rounder failed to emulate his last year’s success in this season and was a big disappointment. Going at the price of Rs 12.5 crore, highest in the IPL auction, he could just manage 196 runs and eight wickets during the tournament. The Rajasthan Royals qualified for the playoffs only after the results of other matches went in their favour. He is in line to be released by the owners before the next IPL auction.

Chris Woakes – The England all-rounder was given a consistent go at the start but he failed to capitalize on it, before being sidelined for rest of the tournament. Bought by the franchise for Rs 7.4 crore, he just managed to take eight wickets and score just 17 runs, to be one of the worst players of the season. His services at Rs 7.4 crore is surely quite high and he might be released by the franchise before next year’s IPL auction.

 

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