6 times Delhi Daredevils overspent on their players in the IPL auction

It is not strange in an IPL auction that more than one team fight to buy a player. Because of this, a few players are sold overpriced and there were instances when unknown players went on to become the most expensive players in the auction.

In the IPL auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils are two teams that often find themselves spending a lot of money for their targets. While they have also made some shrewd buys, they have also splashed a lot of money to get their targets. Not always such players end up doing well for the team. Sometimes, they are not used properly by the side and get released after just one or two seasons for different reasons.

Yesterday, we saw six instances RCB committed blunders by overspending on their players. Now, let us take a look at six instances when Delhi Daredevils committed blunders by spending more money on their players.

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Irfan Pathan (1,900,000 USD in 2011)

Almost a decade back, Irfan Pathan was one of the most sought-after cricketers in the Indian circuit as he was always touted as the replacement for Kapil Dev. Irfan burst on to the scene as a fast bowler and soon became a reliable batsman. Ever since the inception of T20 format, Irfan was always seen as a luxury in the teams, thanks to his two-dimensional behaviour as a player.

He was bought by Kings XI Punjab for a good sum of money in the 2008 auction and was released ahead of the 2011 auction. Unfortunately, Irfan did not play a single game since the completion of the 2010 IPL going into the 2011 auction and still, he managed to attract as many as five teams bidding for him with Delhi Daredevils eventually taking the gamble to sign a player who did not play a single match for the last 10 months for a whopping 1.9 million USD, which was the fifth most expensive signing in that auction.

He stayed with the franchise till the end of 2014 season and played as many as 46 matches in the three seasons in which he scored 468 runs and managed to pick just 29 wickets before he was eventually released. Though he did play all the matches, Delhi did not get what they would have expected from him and their decision to sign an all-rounder who did not play a single match for 10 months before the auction was not justified. Sadly, Irfan was never the same old all-rounder as he was before suffering the injury.

Dinesh Karthik (12.5 crores INR in 2014)

Dinesh Karthik

While Royal Challengers Bangalore buying Yuvraj Singh for 14 crores INR in the 2014 IPL grabbing the headlines, not many will know that Dinesh Karthik also fetched a huge amount as he was signed by Delhi Daredevils for 12.5 crores INR after an intense bidding war. But, Karthik's second stint with the franchise came to an end just after one season with them before he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the following season.

Even though Karthik had a decent season as he scored 325 runs with the bat at an average of over 23 in the 2014 IPL, he was released by Delhi Daredevils after just one season which indicates that Delhi erred in the 2014 auction by signing Karthik for a huge amount.

Angelo Mathews (7.5 crores INR in 2015)

Angelo Mathews

As if buying Yuvraj Singh for 16 crores INR was not enough, Delhi Daredevils pulled off yet another shocking purchase as they signed Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews for a whopping 7.5 crores INR in the same year. Mathews, who had a base price of 2 crores INR, was sought by Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore before Delhi splashed their money and got him for such a huge amount.

By the time they bought him, Mathews was injury prone and his participation in the whole tournament was always a doubt. As expected, he did not play the whole season and even in the 11 matches he played, he managed to score just 144 runs at 20.57 and took seven wickets at 35.14 before he was released after just one season. He was later bought by Delhi Daredevils again in the 2017 IPL auction.

Yuvraj Singh (16 crores INR in 2015)

Yuvraj Singh

Following their signing of Dinesh Karthik for 12.5 crores in the 2014 IPL auction, Delhi Daredevils went a step too far as they bought Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for 16 crores INR in the 2015 IPL auction. Delhi were involved in some serious bidding with Yuvraj's team in the 2014 IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore, who released him to get some money in their purse and then sign him again for a lesser price, and eventually bought him for a record price and no other player is yet to overtake Yuvraj's fee till date.

But, the sighing proved to be a failure as he scored just 248 runs at an average of 19 and a strike-rate of 118 in 14 games, numbers that are below-par by the standards he has set for himself over the years. He was eventually released after just one season.

Pawan Negi (8.5 crores INR in 2016)

Pawan Negi

At least in the previous IPL seasons, Delhi Daredevils were spending money on established players but in the 2016 auction, they splashed their money on Pawan Negi, who had just one good Syed Mushtaq Ali for Delhi prior to the auction.

Negi, who had a base price of just 30 lakhs, created history by becoming the costliest uncapped Indian player in the IPL auction as he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for a whopping 8.5 crores INR after involving themselves in a fierce bidding against Rising Pune Supergiants.

The price tag surely put Negi under a lot of pressure as he was a failure for Delhi as he managed to score just 57 runs and take a solitary wicket in the eight matches he played before getting dropped from the XI. He was eventually released after just one season.

Glenn Maxwell (9 crores in 2018)

Glenn Maxwell

In the 2018 IPL auction, Delhi Daredevils yet again broke the bank to buy a player and the player went on to be below-par for them in the IPL before getting released after just one season.

This time, it was the Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who was bought by Delhi for 9 crores INR after some intense bidding that saw the likes of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore trying to but the right-hander.

But, Maxwell didn't repay the faith Ricky Ponting and co. had in him as he scored just 169 runs in 12 matches at an average of just 14 and a strike-rate of 141. He was dropped after 12 matches and was eventually released by the franchise after just one season.