Five worst buys in history of Indian T20 League auctions

The Indian T20 League (ITL) mega auction is set to b staged in Bengaluru on February 12th and 13th. As many as 1214 players have registered their names to go under the hammer. There have been many players in the history of ITL that have seen some great bids. While some turned out great, others were a forgetful decision. Here are some of the worst buys in the history of ITL.

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Chris Morris (INR 16.25 crores to Rajasthan)

Chris Morris, in the 2021 season, became the highest-paid player in the ITL auctions, with Rajasthan paying him INR 16.25 crores. The team had a lot of expectations from the all-rounder, but to their surprise, he failed to deliver. In a miserable year, the 34-year old only scored 67 runs in 11 matches, averaging just over 13. He was slightly better with the ball picking 15 wickets in the season. The South African has been released by the team in 2022.

Varun Chakravarthy (INR 8.4 crores to Punjab)

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The mystery spinner had a good season in the Domestic circuit playing for Tamil Nadu in 2018. His performance bagged him INR 8.4 crores in 2019. The bowler only took the field once for Punjab that year and was taken for 35 runs in the match. He didn't play another game for the team and was released in 2020. He played for Kolkata the following year and had a decent season with the team.

Yuvraj Singh (INR 16 crores to Delhi)

The Delhi based franchise went all in for the India legend in 2015 after he was released by Bangalore. The all-rounder had a decent run with Bangalore, but could not repeat that for Delhi. He scored just 248 runs at an average below 20. He was released the following season. 16 crores paid to him still remains the highest bid paid to an Indian player and is the second-highest overall.

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Tymal Mills (INR 12 crores to Bangalore)

 Bangalore has had some bad decisions in the auction room, but paying INR 12 crores for Mills in 2017 remains their worst decision. After his performance in the county cricket, Mills generated a lot of hype which earned him an ITL contract. He only played five matches in the season and picked five wickets at a strike rate of 21.4

Jaydev Unadkat (INR 11.5 crores to Rajasthan)

Why RR paid 11.5 crores in the 2018 auction for Unadkat was understandable, but the decision went completely south for the management. Unadkat helped Pune Super Giants reach the finals the year before with a great display. With Rajasthan, he picked just 11 wickets in the season at an average of close to 45 and economy close to 10. He was dropped by Rajasthan the following season but they bought him again in 2019 for INR 3 crores.