IPL 2022: 4 India capped players who shocked fans with poor performance in IPL 15

Mumbai, May 11: The IPL 2022, as it has been with several other editions in the past, has already offered some players for us to celebrate such as Umran Malik. But there is a flip side to this as well.

Some players entered the IPL 2022 with a lot of expectations and reputation to safeguard but failed miserably in their attempt.

Here are we are looking at 4 such India players who could not live up to the billing.

1 Venkatesh Iyer (KKR)

Venkatesh Iyer exploded on to the scene in IPL 2021 when he guided the Kolkata Knight Riders batting from the opening slot. The left-hander’s cameos played a big role in KKR overcoming a wretched beginning to reach the final in the UAE under Eoin Morgan. The performance also opened the door for him to the India white ball set-up.

But in IPL 2022, Venkatesh has been struggling to make an impact and it has its reflection in KKR’s standing in the points table too as they are languishing at the bottom of the table. Imagine the KKR shelled out Rs 8 crore to retain his service in 2022 from a mere Rs 20 lakh 2021.

Here’s Venkatesh’s stats comparison between IPL 2021 and 2022.

IPL 2022: M: 10, Runs: 175 Avg: 19.44, SR: 110.06

IPL 2021: M: 10, Runs: 370, Avg: 41.11, SR: 128.47

2 Chetan Sakariya (DC)

The young left-arm pacer was one of the bright sparks in an otherwise modest season for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021. His spells and Yorkers at the death helped Rajasthan to challenge the opponents meaningfully in the last edition of the IPL. Impressed by his maturity and variations, Chetan was soon got a chance to represent India in a white ball series against Sri Lanka away from home.

So, the Delhi Capitals bargained hard for him and bought him in the auction for Rs 4.20 crore, a good leap from Rs 1.20 crore in 2021. But he has been warming the bench at the Capitals and played just two matches. Perhaps, fellow left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed’s success has played a part in it but from his part Chetan too was unimpressive in two outings.

Here’s Chetan’s stats comparison between IPL 2021 and 2022.

IPL 2022: M: 2, Wkts: 1, Economy: 8.71

IPL 2021 (RR): M: 14, Wkts: 14, Economy: 8.19

3 Devdutt Padikkal (RR)

Devdutt, a left-handed opener, had two good seasons for Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring over 800 runs and scoring a hundred and amassing runs at an impressive strike rate of mid 120s. It has also pitchforked him to the India white ball squad and after three seasons of getting sold for Rs 20 lakh, Devdutt attracted a big price tag of Rs 7.70 crore from the Rajasthan Royals in 2022.

But the opener struggled to make an impact and even had to bat in the middle-order, a place he looked totally out of place. Devdutt is a batsman depends on timing and the demand on a middle-order batsman in T20s to tee off immediately. Devdutt did not seem too comfortable with that proposition. He will have a couple of more games to overturn the lean patch, though.

Here’s Devdutt’s stats comparison between IPL 2021 and 2022.

IPL 2022: M: 11, Runs: 247, Avg: 22.45, SR: 119.32

IPL 2021 (RCB): M: 14, Runs: 411, Avg: 31.61, SR: 125.30

4 Shardul Thakur (DC)

Shardul had some fine outings for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2021 with both ball and bat, playing a huge role in CSK winning their 4th IPL title under MS Dhoni. But for some reason the CSK neither retain him nor bid him back while they bought back some players like Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu.

The Delhi Capitals went on a bidding war and acquired his services for a massive Rs 10.75 crore. It was a grand leap from his earlier price of Rs 2.60 crore at the CSK. But in 11 matches in IPL 2022, Shardul looked a pale shadow of his effective self at the CSK and the DC also struggled for momentum as their premier India all-rounder failed to click.

Here’s Shardul’s stats comparison between IPL 2021 and 2022.

IPL 2022: M: 11, Wkts: 9, Economy: 10.13

IPL 2021 (CSK): M: 16, Wkts: 21, Economy: 8.80