Kolkata's ₹15.5 CR buy Pat Cummins concedes 49 runs in 3 overs on Dream11 IPL return

The most expensive players brought at the IPL auctions hardly ever live up to their hefty price tags. Historically, players' recent performances and form have played a huge part in how much they command at the IPL, and no sum is too small for the cash-rich league. However, big fees don't always translate into big performances and this year's most expensive IPL buy, Pat Cummins is proving to be no exception to this phenomenon. 

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Mumbai vs Kolkata: Pat Cummins' expensive maiden outing for Kolkata

In their first game in the Dream11 IPL 2020, Kolkata sent this year's most expensive buy Pat Cummins to try and scalp Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma in the fifth over. After an intense bidding war with Bangalore, Pat Cummins was bought by Kolkata for ₹15.5 crore, almost the same amount of runs he conceded in his first over in the Mumbai vs Kolkata game last night. After his disaster over, Pat Cummins was brought back in the 15th over, where he conceded another 15 runs. 

The night only got worse for the Australian pacer, who gave away 19 runs in his third over to finish with figures of 3-0-49-0. While he failed with the ball, Cummins did not prove to be entirely unhelpful for Kolkata. He took two catches, including one from Rohit Sharma at long-on, though it may have come a bit late for Kolkata. Pat Cummins also ended up being the highest scorer for Kolkata, making 33 runs off 12 balls, winning him the trophy for the best strike rate.

In his post-match interview, Kolkata captain Dinesh Karthik put up a strong defence for Cummins saying that considering the fact Cummins had only been cleared to play the match a couple of hours before it started, he was bound to be a bit rusty. Whether it was the pressure of being the most expensive or just being rusty, we will find out on September 26 when Kolkata take on Hyderabad. 

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Most expensive players in IPL history

All the way back in 2009, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen became the 1-year-old league's most expensive buys for about ₹9.8 crore. Both went on to have terrible seasons and Flintoff never returned to the league. Pietersen returned in the following editions and did quite well for Bangalore. In 2012, Chennai shelled out ₹12.8 crore for Ravindra Jadeja. After managing an average of only 15 runs per game, Jadeja was retained by Chennai and is now a mainstay in the side.

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In 2013, Mumbai paid ₹6.3 crore for Australian star Glenn Maxwell. After a poor outing, the side released him, only for him to go on to have a smashing 2014 season with Punjab. After a great 2014 season with Bangalore, India's veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh was bought for a massive ₹16 crore by Delhi in 2015. He went to have one of his worst IPL years that year, scoring at an average of just 19 runs. Similarly, England's heroic World Cup winner Ben Stokes failed to justify his ₹12.5 crore price tag at Rajasthan in 2018, scoring at an average of just 16.33. 

Last year's most expensive buy, Jaydev Unadakat, also a part of the Rajasthan squad, has also been unable to live up to his ₹8.40 crore tag. In his first game for the side this season, Unadkat got off to a bad start, giving away 44 runs from his 4 overs in the match against Chennai. While Rajasthan did eke out a win, the game nearly went down to the wire courtesy of some big hitting from Faf du Plessis.

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Image Credits: Mumbai IPL team website