The most flop team of IPL 2025: These players who took crores turned out to be the biggest loss deal
IPL 2025: The Biggest Disappointments-This year’s IPL ended with an exciting win for Royal Challengers Bangalore, but amidst the celebrations, some players significantly underperformed, failing to live up to expectations and the hefty price tags associated with them. Many are unlikely to be retained next season. Surprisingly, no players from the winning RCB team or the runner-up Punjab Kings are included in this list.
High-Priced Flops: Underwhelming Performances-Several players, despite their hefty price tags, delivered underwhelming performances. Take, for example, Jake Fraser-McGurk of Delhi Capitals, acquired for ₹9 crore, who only managed 55 runs in six matches. Similarly, Rachin Ravindra of Chennai Super Kings, despite high expectations based on his red-ball cricket performance, scored a mere 191 runs in eight innings. This highlights the difference between reputation and actual on-field performance.
Ishan Kishan: A Tale of Two Matches-Ishan Kishan, playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, scored 354 runs throughout the season. However, a closer look reveals that 200 of those runs came from just two innings—a century and a 94-run knock. His performance in the remaining 12 matches was significantly lackluster, disrupting the team’s balance and leaving the team needing his runs when it mattered most.
Rishabh Pant: A Costly Underperformance-Rishabh Pant, purchased by Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping ₹27 crore, was a major disappointment. His 151 runs across 13 matches hardly justified the investment, even though he did play a stunning 118* in the final match. This single match, however, couldn’t compensate for the underwhelming performance throughout the rest of the season.
Maxwell’s Disappointment, and Others-Glen Maxwell, once again, failed to meet expectations, scoring only 48 runs in seven matches for Punjab Kings. Players like Venkatesh Iyer and Liam Livingstone also struggled, and Nitish Kumar Reddy’s performance fell far short of expectations. This inconsistent middle order significantly impacted their respective teams’ overall performance.
Expensive Bowlers Fail to Deliver-The bowling department also saw some significant underperformers. Ravichandran Ashwin, bought by Chennai for ₹9.75 crore, took only seven wickets in nine matches. Mohammed Shami’s performance was even worse, with just six wickets and an economy rate exceeding 11 in nine matches. This poor performance not only affected his IPL image but also contributed to his exclusion from the Indian national team. Mohit Sharma also disappointed with only two wickets in eight matches.
Rashid Khan: A Star’s Dim Light-Gujarat Titans’ star spinner, Rashid Khan, also underperformed. His nine wickets in 15 matches, coupled with a concerning economy rate of 9.34, are alarming for a bowler of his caliber. His failure to impact matches when his team needed him most proved costly.
IPL 2025’s Biggest Disappointments: The Flop XI-This season’s ‘Flop XI’ comprises players on whom franchises heavily invested, only to receive disappointing returns. This includes Rishabh Pant (₹27 crore), Mohammed Shami (₹10 crore), Ravichandran Ashwin (₹9.75 crore), Ishan Kishan (₹11.25 crore), Jake Fraser-McGurk (₹9 crore), Venkatesh Iyer (₹23.75 crore), Rashid Khan (₹18 crore), Nitish Kumar Reddy (₹6 crore), Rachin Ravindra (₹4 crore), Devon Conway (₹6.25 crore), Mohit Sharma (₹2.2 crore), and impact player Glen Maxwell (₹4.2 crore).
