5 uncapped Indian players who did not justify their hefty price tags in the IPL

Uncapped players seem to have hit the jackpot in the IPL 9 auctions as they were purchased for huge winning bids. The most outrageous of them all was the price of Rs. 8.5 crores that the Delhi Daredevils dished out for Pawan Negi.Negi can be a valued asset to any side with his leg-break and power-hitting abilities but the sum paid for him, it has to be admitted, is outlandish. Interestingly, the last three auctions have displayed a tendency of the IPL franchises to shower the cash on uncapped or relatively unknown players.How wise is it to pay such huge sums for uncapped players? Even when such players have done well in the IPL in the past, history tells us that very often they failed to repay the faith shown in them, perhaps having been overburdened with expectations bought by the huge price tags.Here are 5 uncapped Indian players in IPL history who failed to justify their hefty price tags:

#5 Rajat Bhatia

Rajat Bhatia during his time with the Kolkata Knight Riders

Rajat Bhatia was another classic case of an uncapped player being bought for a huge price because of his good performances who failed to justify his price tag for his new franchise. Bhatia had been in good form in the IPL with his slow medium pace during the middle overs and his ability to wield the willow towards the end.

Fending off rival bids from KKR and DD, the Rajasthan Royals snapped him up for Rs. 1.7 crore in the IPL 7 auctions. Bhatia was expected to play a leading role as an all-rounder for the Royals. But his form fell away and by 2015 and he was left fighting for his place in the team.

In the 2014 season, Bhatia picked up 12 wickets from 12 matches and scored 67 runs at an average of 13.40. In 2015, he played only 2 matches where he failed to score any runs or pick any wickets. Bhatia has now been bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs. 60 lakh.

#4 Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jhadav playing for the Delhi Daredevils

When the Delhi Daredevils spent lavishly on Kedar Jadhav in 2014, many believed that it was a wise decision. Jadhav was a top scorer in the Ranji trophy and had made a name for himself in the domestic circuit for being one of the finest batsmen.

Anxious to acquire his services, DD spent Rs. 2 crore on him in the IPL 7 auctions. But Jadhav failed to deliver, managing only 149 runs from 10 games at an average of 29.80. In IPL 8, his performance was even worse as he scored 189 runs in 14 games at an average of 23.62.

Jadhav does have potential as many who have seen his century in India colours will testify. But he has not been consistent enough for the Daredevils. DD has spent lavishly on players with potential, like him, leaving them without a lot of star names in their batting order. That may be one of the reasons why they have struggled in the recent past.

#3 Karn Sharma

Karn Sharma celebrates the dismissal of Joe Root

Of all the uncapped players who fetched astronomic prices at the auctions, Karn Sharma looked a promising talent at times. But those moments were few and far between. When you pay a whopping Rs. 3.75 crore for someone, you expect him to step up and set the IPL on fire. But Karn Sharma has hardly done that.

Short of quality spinners, the Sunrisers Hyderabad had been reliant on Karn Sharma for the past two seasons. He sparked off a furious bidding war and was ultimately bought by the SRH for Rs. 3.75 crore, making him the most expensive uncapped player in that auction.

Sharma provided modest returns as he came away with 15 wickets in his first season with the SRH. He also made his debut for India that year but failed to impress in the brief chances he got. In 2015, his form fell away and he could manage only 10 wickets. He does need to do more to re-pay his hefty price tag.

#2 Rishi Dhawan

Rishi Dhawan preparing in the Indian squad

Rishi Dhawan has been quite a presence in the Indian domestic cricketing circle. Such has been his run of form that he has often been touted as India's next all-rounder. Though it was not till the recently concluded tour to Australia that he was selected for the national squad, he already hit the jackpot with the huge price that he fetched in IPL 7 auction.

In spite of a lackadaisical inaugural IPL with the Mumbai Indians in 2013, Dhawan remained on the radar of IPL teams because of good domestic performances. After he was released by the Mumbai Indians, he caused a huge bidding war between the Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, though the Kings XI Punjab won it in the end.

He was purchased for a huge sum of Rs. 3 crore in the IPL 7 auction, making him the second most expensive uncapped player that year. He picked 13 wickets from 13 matches that year and could manage only 82 runs with the bat with a highest of 23.

He played only five matches in the 2015 season and had only one wicket and 36 runs in his kitty. Dhawan must turn over a new leaf this season to overcome the impression of him being a bits-and-pieces cricketer at best.

#1 KC Cariappa

KC Cariappa starred in the KPL

One of the strangest buys by the Kolkata Knight Riders during the auction in 2015 was KC Cariappa. Having made a name for themselves for unearthing mystery spinners, the Kolkata outfit splurged its cash lavishly on basically an unknown quantity by investing in Cariappa.

And it was a massive investment indeed. When the bidding war ended, KKR sealed the deal at Rs. 2.4 crore ($400,000) which was 24 times his base price. AR Srikkanth, who was the team analyst for KKR and also the Bijapur Bulls, had provided given Cariappa his breakthrough.

Cariappa had performed well for the Bijapur Bulls in the Karnataka Premier League and finished as the third highest wicket-taker with 11 scalps to his credit. But to pay such a high amount for someone with basically no experience at the domestic level was truly incredible.

Cariappa spent the entire season warming the KKR bench except a lone match where he picked up AB de Villiers's wicket but returned with expensive figures. KKR chose not to retain him in their 2016 squad.