5 Team India cricketers who disappointed this season

Having played on the international stage does not necessarily beget performance. The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 amply displayed the same. Franchises hoping to lift the prestigious trophy spent big this year on Indian internationals in the IPL auction 2018, only to be left disappointed.

The league unearthed a couple of gems like Shreyas Gopal and Mayank Markande who were bought for low sums but, the other hand, many Indian star players failed to live up to the expectations. With some big money paid, a few Indian cricketers in IPL 2018 failed to set the stage on fire. Whether it was the pressure of the price tag or just an unfortunate streak of poor performances, these 5 Team India cricketers had a season to forget.

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#5 Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar, not-so-long-ago was touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. Following his Man of the Series performances in the Nidahas Trophy, Virat Kohli expected a lot from the INR 3.2 crore purchase. After a very promising breakout season with the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants, Washington failed to replicate his showings in the Red and Black of RCB.

He picked up just four wickets in seven games at a poor economy rate of 9.60. Although his exploits with the bat were better, they did not merit the price he fetched at the auction as he added just 65 runs. His poor form left a gaping hole, forcing RCB to use two of their foreign slots on all-rounders Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali.

#4 Wriddhiman Saha

Saha opened the innings for SRH in David Warner's absence

Indian wicketkeepers had a wonderful IPL this season. The likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik all finished in the top 10 run-getters this season. Even those that finished outside of the top 10 - Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and MS Dhoni played match-winning knocks for their teams while Parthiv Patel and Rahul Tripathi played useful cameos.

However, one regular wicket-keeper that surprisingly failed to find form was India's Test number one Wriddhiman Saha. The INR 5 crore player's season struggled to get going with injuries playing their part as well. He made just 122 runs in 11 games at an average of 15.25 and a poor strike-rate of 119.60. Behind the stumps, he effected just 5 catches and 1 stumping.

#3 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey struggled to strike the ball when most required

Sunrisers Hyderabad showed a lot of faith in the Indian international as they went all-out in their pursuit of Manish Pandey for INR 11 crore. Pandey was expected to stand up, especially after captain David Warner's ouster from the tournament for his part in the ball-tampering scandal. Unfortunately for Tom Moody and co, the right-hander never stepped up to the occasion.

Barring knocks of 54, 57* and 62*, Pandey failed miserably. As a result of these not out scores, Pandey’s numbers and average seem fairly decent – 285 runs in 15 matches at an average of 25.81. However, his batting lacked any kind of fluency, and he failed to switch gears when needed. This was clearly reflected in his below-par strike rate 115.44. If we were to discount those 2 not out scores, both of which came in a losing cause, Pandey’s record reads 166 runs at an average less than 14.

Moving into the playoffs, SRH felt that they had given the Karnataka batsman his fair share of opportunities, thus dropping him for the most crucial games of the tournament.

#2 Jaydev Unadkat

Jaydev Unadkat reacts during match four of the Vivo Indian Premier League 2018 (Source-BCCI)

Along with Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and D’Arcy Short, Jaydev Unadkat was another Rajasthan Royals big buy. Bought for INR 11.5 crores, like Stokes and Short, Unadkat failed to live up to the expectations. The left-arm medium-pacer had a stellar IPL 2017. Playing for Rising Pune Supergiant, he picked up 24 wickets with a best of 5/30 and an exceptional economy rate of 7.02.

After the IPL auction, it seemed as if Rajasthan would get their money's worth as Unadkat followed up with a successful outing in the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka as he finished the third highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 7 scalps and one Man-of-the-Match performance in 4 matches.

However, the left-armer failed to carry his good run of form into the IPL. The 26-year-old played in all 15 matches for Rajasthan with a paltry return of just 11 wickets at a high economy rate of 9.65.

#1 Axar Patel

Axar Patel cuts a frustrated figure

In what many saw as a shocking decision, Punjab for some bizarre reason, decided to retain the services of just one of their players, Axar Patel. While the Indian international has given the side some brilliant all-round performances over the past few years, retaining him for a hefty sum of ₹12.5 crores simply cannot be justified. Punjab could have easily gotten a player of his caliber for much less than 12.5 crores in the auction given that the most expensive India player went for just 11.5 crores.

The decision to retain Axar came to bite them back as the left-arm spinner was incredibly poor with bat and ball. In the 9 matches he played, he scored 80 runs at a poor strike rate of 115.94. Even worse, he conceded 218 runs at an economy of 8.38, picking up only 3 wickets at an average of 72.66.