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The costliest flops of IPL 7
The curtain came down on the seventh season of the Indian Premier League with Kolkata Knight Riders beating Kings XI Punjab in a thrilling final at the M Chinaswamy stadium in Bangalore and winning their second title in the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament.
The month-and-a-half long tournament, the first phase of which was played in the UAE because of the general elections in the country, witnessed several engrossing moments, threw up new stars and a few disappointments.
We take a look at the some of the big names who flopped big time.
Yuvraj Singh (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Price: INR 14 crore
Paying an amount as big as mentioned above was always going to cost Bangalore dear. In the final analysis, they did pay the price.
It is not that Yuvraj wasn't among the runs. In fact, he managed 376 from 14 matches to finish as the team's second highest scorer, after AB de Villiers.
However, what hurt Bangalore most was he made an impact in just a couple of games.
For a player with such a price tag, a bigger contribution was expected.
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The costliest flops of IPL 7
Dinesh Karthik (Delhi Daredevils)
Price: INR 12.5 crore
Such a price for a player like Dinesh Karthik was obscene, to say the least.
He was, at best, an addition sans much value.
He scored 325 runs in 14 matches, but never fired when Delhi needed him to.
The team had to pay a heavy price for paying so much for the Tamil Nadu player.
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The costliest flops of IPL 7
Kevin Pietersen (Delhi Daredevils)
Price: INR 9 crore
He's out of the England team and had not played for three months. But that didn't stop Delhi from paying a bomb to acquire Kevin Pietersen.
The player's reputation made it seem a sound investment.
However, sport cares a damn about reputation.
Injuries meant Delhi played sans their captain initially, and when Pietersen did figure he failed to inspire his side.
The fact that Delhi finished with the wooden spoon is a testimony to the same.
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The costliest flops of IPL 7
Jacques Kallis (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Price: INR 5.5 crore
Jacques Kallis is 38 and well past his prime.
That didn't stop Kolkata Knight Riders from signing him.
However, age does matter in sport and the South African, having played half the season, realised he was not good enough to compete.
Now that KKR won the title, it is safe to say he sat out in the interest of his team. Well, that happens to be the official version.
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The costliest flops of IPL 7
Murali Vijay (Delhi Daredevils)
Price: INR 5 crore
An aggregate of just 207 runs from 11 matches, with just one fifty.
Do we need to say more?
Acquiring Murali Vijay for such a huge amount cost Delhi dear and they learnt it the hard way.
Hopefully, the franchise will learn from such costly mistakes.
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