IPL 2019: 3 Players who may not be able to justify their price tag

The Indian Premier League has been a life-changer for many players right since its inception. Over the years, the cash-rich league has made several players overnight millionaires.

Some of these players justified their price tag by performing well but some did not, as they could not live up to the expectations.

We saw many players becoming millionaires at the IPL 2019 auctions as well. While it was expected for some players to get a huge amount, there were some who surprised everyone by bagging a hefty sum.

Here, we take a look at three players who may not be able to justify their price tag in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.

#3 Sam Curran

The talented left-arm seamer Sam Curran made headlines with his all-round performance during the India vs England Test series last year. His performance in the series made him an overnight star. And because of that, he bagged a huge amount of INR 7.2 crore at the IPL auctions 2019.

Curran will be seen playing for Kings XI Punjab in the 12th edition of IPL. One of the reasons why he went for such a huge amount is that he will be available for the whole tournament, unlike other English players.

But is Curran worth INR 7.2 crore as a T20 player? There is no doubt that he is an excellent Test player, but his bowling doesn't look particularly equipped to do well in the shorter formats. The 20-year-old is often seen as a Test specialist, and not as a T20 specialist.

So far, the all-rounder has played a total of 47 T20s and has picked up 42 wickets at an average of 28.47 and economy rate of 8.24. He has also scored 478 runs at an average of 15.93 and strike rate of 118.90 from 46 innings while batting.

Curran is a decent bowler and a handy batsman who'll make useful contributions in wins, but he is unlikely to win you matches single-handedly.

There is also a question if Curran will be able to play all the matches for KXIP as an overseas all-rounder. They already have some big foreign names like Chris Gayle, David Miller, Andrew Tye, Moises Henriques and Mujeeb ur Rahman, so it might be very difficult for Curran to break into the XI.

Looking at Curran's T20 record and his playing chances at KXIP, it can be said that anything above INR 5 crore for the all-rounder doesn't make a lot of sense.

#2 Carlos Brathwaite

Carlos Brathwaite's form has taken a huge dip since his heroics in the World T20 2016 final

The West Indian all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite shot to fame when he hit Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to win the World T20 2016 for West Indies. That innings gave him rapid recognition and he soon became the T20I captain of West Indies.

The 30-year-old has been a part of various franchises in the IPL since 2016. At the IPL auction 2019, he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping sum of INR 5 crore.

Since his famous innings in the World T20 2016 final though, he has not done anything remarkable either in international cricket or in the various T20 leagues. That is why, him being sold for INR 5 crore was surprising for many.

Brathwaite's IPL record is also not very impressive as he has scored just 170 runs at a modest average of 15.45 and strike rate of 168.32 from 14 matches. While bowling, he has taken 13 wickets at an average of 26.92 and a mediocre economy rate of 8.90.

It is almost certain that Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell will be KKR's first three choices for overseas players. And for the fourth overseas spot they would like to opt for a foreign bowler. So Brathwaite might find it difficult to break into KKR's XI in most of the matches.

Considering his recent form and playing chances, an amount of INR 5 crore looks a little expensive for Carlos Brathwaite.

#1 Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma will rejoin CSK in IPL 2019

Mohit Sharma made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2013. That proved to be a breakthrough season for him as he picked up 20 wickets from 15 matches at an excellent average of 16.30 and economy rate of 6.43.

Because of his IPL performance, he made his international debut in July 2013. Mohit then performed reasonably well in IPL 2014 as well, but his form has taken a dip since then.

The 30-year-old had played for Kings XI Punjab in the last 3 IPL seasons. His performance for KXIP has not been impressive at all as he has picked up 33 wickets at an unimpressive average of 34.96 and a very high economy rate of 9.20.

At the IPL auctions 2019, he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for a hefty amount of INR 5 crore. His recent domestic performance has been very mediocre, so him being sold for such a whopping sum was a big surprise.

Not many expect Mohit to do any wonders for CSK in the 12th season of the IPL. It will also be difficult for him to feature in CSK's XI as they already have some very good domestic fast bowlers like Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, KM Asif and Monu Kumar.

So after considering all the facts, it is unlikely that Mohit will be able to justify his price tag in IPL 2019.