6 times Kings XI Punjab overspent on their players in the IPL auction

Despite having a team full of talent, the Kings XI Punjab continue to fail and have reached the playoffs only twice in as many as eleven seasons. They always get the kind of start they would want to the tournament, but lose their way towards the end of the season.

In the 2014 edition of IPL, they made it to the final after finishing at the top of the points table. They were consistent throughout the tournament and the players they bought during the auction all delivered.

However, there were times when they just spent too much on players and they failed miserably. Let us take a look at six times when Kings XI Punjab overspent on their players in the IPL auction.

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#6 Martin Guptill - IPL 2017 Auction

Martin Guptill did not live up to the expectations

After finishing at the bottom of the table in IPL 2016, the Kings XI Punjab franchise entered the IPL 2017 auction with the highest amount in the purse. They went at a lot of bowlers (expensive) and bought them. Even though the bowlers performed, the two specialist batsmen they bought that night (Eoin Morgan and Martin Guptill) did not live up to the expectations.

In particular, Guptill was very disappointing in the IPL 2017 and scored just 132 runs in 7 innings at an average of 22.00. Although Guptill is a very talented and reliable batsmen when it comes to one-day cricket, the same cannot be said about his T20 performances. He only had one half-century in IPL 2017 and was replaced by Hashim Amla in the middle of the tournament, thanks to his continuous failures.

Amla was terrific and grabbed the opportunity with both hands and made it count. Even though Kings XI Punjab's fans were very excited when they got Guptill, they were very heart-broken with the way he performed. Even though he was bought for only 50 lacs, this proved a blunder as they fell short of the playoffs by just one win. Instead, they could have used the same money on getting an uncapped player.

#5 Mohammad Kaif - IPL 2010 Auction

Mohammad Kaif was the most expensive Indian buy in the 2010 auction

Mohammad Kaif is widely regarded as one of the greatest fielders to ever play for India. The middle-order batsman changed the way people looked at fitness and also played a lot of fine knocks for the country.

Although he was never known as an explosive batsman, he was bought for $685,000 USD by the Rajasthan Royals in 2008. He only scored 176 runs in 16 matches with a high score of just 34 runs and was axed by the team before the start of the 2009 season.

Nevertheless, in the 2010 IPL auction, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab for staggering $250,000 USD. He was the most expensive Indian buy in the auction that season. He did not have a great season and had to be dropped mid-season, after appearing in only four games for the Kings XI Punjab.

#4 David Hussey - IPL 2011 Auction

David Hussey could not gel with the Kings XI Punjab during his first season with the franchise

David Hussey is a name that needs no introduction. With his consistency and hitting, he was one of the most popular T20 cricketers when the shortest format was still in its early stages. He could also bowl a bit and that made him a target for many teams at the IPL auction.

At the 2011 IPL auction, Hussey was bought by the Kings XI Punjab for $1.4 million after being involved in a heavy bidding war with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, he did not play the way everyone expected him to and scored just 64 runs in 8 matches with a high score of just 21 runs.

The franchise heavily banked on Hussey's hitting ability in the middle-order but he could not get it going throughout the tournament and they finished fifth on the points table, and failed to make it to the playoffs by one game.

He was impressive in the next edition of the tournament and scored 396 runs in 16 games, before following it up with another dismal-season, scoring just 235 runs in 12 games at a very poor strike rate of 112.44.

#3 Marcus Stoinis - IPL 2018 Auction

Marcus Stoinis has spent three seasons with the Kings XI Punjab

Marcus Stoinis is currently one of the most popular all-rounders in the game and is a regular feature in the limited-overs format for Australia. After spending his first two years in the IPL with the Kings XI Punjab, he was not very impressive and everyone expected he would not be with the franchise in 2018.

However, to everyone's surprise, the Kings XI Punjab used the RTM card to get him back for a whopping INR 6.2 crores and it raised a few eyebrows as the all-rounder has not been very consistent with his game.

As everyone expected, Stoinis had a disappointing season and scored just 99 runs in 7 matches and in the bowling department, he only picked up 3 wickets and did not create any impact. He was traded to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in exchange for Mandeep Singh in the off-season.

#2 Eoin Morgan - IPL 2017 Auction

IPL has never been kind to Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan has been in the IPL from a long time and has played on multiple teams. Even after continuous failures, he gets plenty of takers and his name always makes noise in the IPL auctions.

So far, Morgan has played for 4 franchises in the IPL and there is not a single note-worthy season to his name. In last year's auction, to everyone's surprise, he went unsold and joined the list of unwanted players.

In the 2017 IPL auction, Morgan was bought by Kings XI Punjab for a whopping INR 2 crores and that did raise a few eyebrows as the southpaw has never been effective in the world's prestigious T20 tournament. He only scored 65 runs in 4 matches and failed to deliver before he got benched for the rest of the season. Morgan's contract was a complete waste of money for Kings XI Punjab and hurt their chances of making it to the playoffs.

#1 Aaron Finch - IPL 2018 Auction

Aaron Finch disappointed the fans with his performance

Aaron Finch is known for his monster hitting and on his day, he can smash even the best of the bowlers for runs all around the park. A 9-year IPL veteran, Finch's best days came with the Gujarat Lions. In the two seasons, he was brilliant for the franchise and scored 693 runs in 26 matches.

In last year's auction, he was bought by Kings XI Punjab for a staggering INR 6.2 crores. This made him the first player in the history of IPL to take the field for seven different franchises.

He had a forgettable season and scored just 134 runs in 10 matches. The Aussies cricketer did not register a single half-century and his highest score was 46. His constant failures hurt the team dearly and they failed to make it to the playoffs, after winning five of their first six matches. He was subsequently released by the franchise during the off-season.