IPL 2024: Team-wise Worst Buys in the Indian Premier League 2024 Auction

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is just a couple of months away. The 10 teams have made their buys in the auction held back in December, 19. The teams are gearing up for the mega event as they made a formidable side in the auction, with the resources they had in their bag. Out of 333 players registered in the IPL 2024 auction, only 72 players got a buyer among the ten participating franchises. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad's bid of 20.50 crore INR for Australia captain Pat Cummins and Kolkata Knight Riders' bid of 24.75 crore INR  and for both these cricketers the franchise broke the 20 crore INR mark in IPL auction history. As a result, they went on to become the two most expensive players ever sold. Aside from this, other players were extensively bid on, but the franchises provided no explanation as to why they were purchased.

The IPL 2024 Auction produced some outstanding purchases, some stunning purchases, and some undervalued purchases. However, there were some not-so-good, or rather, overpriced and poor purchases as well. In the article we will be looking into the worst buys in the IPL 2024 Auction.

Here are the 10 franchise's worst buys in the IPL 2024 Auction  

10. Sunrisers Hyderabad (Jaydev Unadkat) 

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made some big deals and some steal deals in the IPL 2024 auction. They bought Pat Cummins for a huge amount of 20.50 crore INR and got Travis Head and Wanindu Hasaranga under 10 crore INR. They had been one of the most formidable-looking sides in the paper over the past few years but failed to show that stability on the ground. Their worst buy in the auction was Jaydev Unadkat, with likes of Indian pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, and Akash Singh and they have the likes of Fazalhaq Farooqi, Pat Cummins and Marco Jensen. They did not need the service of the Suarashtra captain for 1.6 crore INR. 

9. Punjab Kings (Rilee Russow) 

Rilee Russow is one of the finest T20I batters over the years. The left-handed opener from South Africa has been in off-form in recent times and his age is also been a factor in the amount of money the Punjab Kings (PBKS) paid, they paid him an amount of 8 crores INR, but at that price of cheaper than that they could have got two players with Josh Inglis and Steve Smith, the former has been one of the explosive opener in recent times and might have given the option to keep wickets as well. 

8. Delhi Capitals (Kumar Kushagra) 

Delhi Capitals (DC) is known witty approach to the auction. They make sure to raise the bids of players in the IPL auction even if they do not require them. In the auction, they bought some 4 wicket-keepers in the auction while having two in the team previously. DC now have 6 keepers in total, with Rishabh Pant coming back in the side and if he is fully fit he will be one who might be behind the stumps as well. Kumar Kushagra was a poor buy from the franchise at an amount of 7.40 crore INR as the young batter might not get a game in the tournament.

7. Lucknow Super Giants (Shivam Mavi) 

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has been one of the most consistent sides in the IPL since their inclusion. The franchise have qualified for the knockouts in the last two editions of the tournament. They spent wisely in the auction and got some good deals as well, but the inclusion of Shivam Mavi was a question as the Uttar Pradesh-born pacer is suffering from a back injury and he missed the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Asian Games in Hangzhou as well. There is no confirmation of whether the pacer will be available for the 2024 season of the IPL. 

6. Rajasthan Royals (Shubham Dubey) 

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been one of the best sides in the IPL, but have not performed as per the expectations from the fans. RR have bought Shubham Dubey for a price of 5.8 crore INR, the Vidarbha-born batter in domestic cricket has a strike rate of 145.20 in 20 T20s so far. But there are players in the side and good backups with Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell and Tom Kohler-Cademore, the batter might not even get a chance to showcase his talent in the rich cash league. 

5. Gujarat Titans (Umesh Yadav) 

Gujarat Titans (GT) has been one of the most formidable sides in the tournament. The 2022 IPL champions have let go of their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya. They have made some good buys in the auction, but they have bought Umesh Yadav. There is little place for a bowler considering that GT has great pacers in Mohammed Shami, Spencer Johnson, Joshua Little, and Azmatullah Omarzai.

4. Royal Challengers Bangalore (Yash Dayal) 

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are the unluckiest side in the tournament, as they are yet to win a trophy. The team has qualified thrice in the final, unfortunately ending up on the losing side every time. Yash Dayal, was the poor buy for RCB are in need of a talented spinner. Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Cameron Green, Tom Curran, and Lockie Ferguson lead their fast bowling attack. Purchasing Dayal for Rs 5 crore may be viewed as a questionable decision. The left-arm fast bowler had a demoralising IPL 2023 after being hit for 5 sixes by Rinku Singh. 

3. Kolkata Knight Riders (Mujeeb ur Rahman) 

Kolkata Knight Riders has been one of the most successful sides in the tournament, having won the tournament twice but in the last few years they have not performed as per expectations over the years and they have brought Gautam Gambhir as a mentor and they bid for Starc for the highest bid in the history of the IPL for 24.75 crore INR. They added Mujeeb ur Rahman which can be a poor decision for the side as they have already got four spinners Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, and Suyash Sharma. 

2. Mumbai Indians (Nuwan Thusara) 

Mumbai Indians are the joint most successful side in the IPL history. They have won the trophy five times in their history. They have probably the best pace bowling department in the IPL, with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Dilshan Madushanka, Gerald Coetzee, and Jason Behrendoff they have a formidable attack. Nuwan Thusara the Sri Lanka pacer has also been added to the squad. The pacer has a slingy action and bowls like Lasith Malinga but he might not be able to showcase his talent in a star-studded bowling attack of MI. 

1. Chennai Super Kings (Sameer Rizvi) 

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the defending champions of the IPL. They won the final against GT in the previous edition, known for their master stroke picks in the auction they got some good deals in the 2024 one as well. The CSK franchise decided to spend more than INR 8 crore on Uttar Pradesh's Sameer Rizvi based on some good batting performances in the UP T20 League. Instead of going for Karun Nair and Manish Pandey, both of whom had bags of experience playing in domestic and IPL as well.