IPL: 5 auction blunders committed by Chennai Super Kings over the years

#5 2018 – Karn Sharma – INR 5 crore

Karn Sharma

Leg-spinners are a force to reckon with in modern day T20 cricket, as is evident from the fact that they occupy the top 6 spots in the ICC T20I bowlers' rankings.

But despite Chennai being a spin-friendly track, barring Samuel Badree for a few matches, CSK have never had a good leg-spinner in their team. So in 2018, the owners were determined to get in a few leg-spinners.

But the auction dynamics are such that skills may not be the only factor that determines the price. Karn Sharma for CSK was one such case.

Karn is not a conventional leg-spinner and relies only on line and length with pace to deceive the batsmen. He was bought for INR 5 crore but he did little to justify the price tag.

His economy rate of 9.37 was worst among leg-spinners in 2018. With all due respect to him, CSK could have spent the same amount to buy other leg-spinners who either went for a lesser price or went unsold.