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Krunal Pandya ( Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has always lived up to its motto of opportunity meeting talent. There have been several players who have gone on to do great things for their teams, thanks to their amazing cricketing abilities which got a platform in IPL.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a melting pot of talent, containing some of the world’s top cricketers. While several players have made memorable contributions to the game, others have fallen short of expectations. Over the years, such players have managed to stay relevant in the league, but their performance is not at par with what they showcased initially.
Here are the 5 most overrated cricketers in the IPL:
5. Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine has been with the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders since 2012 and has played 162 games in total. He has rarely missed any matches for the franchise. Narine has picked 163 wickets at an economy of 6.73 with best figures of 5/19. He even had a couple of IPL seasons, where he shined with the bat. In IPL 2017 and 2018, he made 224 and 357 runs, respectively, and overall has scored four fifties with the best score of 75.
However, in recent years, fitness and lack of international cricket have dampened Narine’s effect in IPL. In the last two seasons of IPL, Narine has 20 wickets in all. With Varun Chakravarthy rising the ranks and KKR finding Suyash Sharma as an able leggie, Narine has lost his sheen pretty much and this season can be his final appearance in IPL for KKR.
4. Krunal Pandya
Elder brother of Hardik Pandya, Krunal has also had highlight performances in the IPL and for the Indian team as well. He has played five ODIs and 19 T20Is for India, taking 17 wickets and scoring 254 runs (combined). However, his impact in the IPL has been majorly for the Mumbai Indians where he partnered with brother Hardik in the finisher’s role.
Overall, his stats in the IPL read as 1514 runs and 70 wickets in 113 games. These are very under-par numbers for a spin all-rounder. He has played the last two IPL seasons for Lucknow Super Giants and scored 183 and 188 runs while taking 10 and 9 wickets, respectively. His performance has been always criticized for the amount that was paid to him by both MI and LSG. Many feel Krunal has not lived up to the ability and talent he has in cricket.
3. Jaydev Unadkat
Jaydev Unadkat is a veteran of the Indian Premier League (IPL), having played 94 games and taken 91 wickets for various franchises. His golden run was for Rajasthan Royals where he not only took his only fifer in IPL but also took a hat-trick. His best outing was in IPL 2017, where he took 24 wickets.
Unadkat has been always under the scanner for his economy rate which has been abysmal for the last few seasons. In the last 21 matches in the previous four seasons of IPL, Unadkat just has 14 wickets to show for at an economy of over 9.50. He was even retained thrice by RR and got almost INR 20 crores for those seasons.
2. Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has always been a fan favorite when it comes to bashing a batter. He has played most of his career for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Though Siraj has turned out to be a gun bowler for India in Tests and ODIs, T20Is seem to be his Achilles heel.
His IPL record of 78 wickets in 74 matches at an economy of 8.54 proves that he struggles in the shortest format of the game. It doesn’t help the fact that his home ground is Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in IPL which is a graveyard for bowlers. However, despite his experience and talent, Siraj can be termed overrated in the IPL.
1. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is a six-time IPL winner and five-time IPL trophy-winning captain. He is the only player to have scored a century and taken a hat-trick in IPL history. With 6211 runs in 243 matches in IPL, he is also in the top five of the all-time run-getters list in the tournament.
However, despite all this, his last few seasons for MI have been very poor and he has barely averaged 30. He has just 6 half-centuries in the last 4 seasons of the IPL and he has averaged 19.14 and 20.75 in IPL 2022 and IPL 2023, respectively. Yes, his captaincy ability is only matched by MS Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings, but Rohit Sharma, as a batter has failed repeatedly.
