IPL 2022 got underway on March 26, a month after the cricket world witnessed one of the biggest auctions in the tournament’s history. Some prominent names went unsold, while some lesser-known stars surprisingly earned big contracts. The likes of Suresh Raina, Amit Mishra, Dhawal Kulkarni, Cheteshwar Pujara, Steve Smith, Shakib Al Hasan and Eoin Morgan went unsold. Once upon a time, Smith was among the highest paid overseas players.
On the other hand, some uncapped players returned with big contracts. Even some lesser-known foreign stars received a massive salary. Some of them have justified their price tag, while some could not and were subsequently dropped from their team’s playing XI. Here’s a list of four such players.
1. Tim David – One of the highest paid overseas players in IPL 2022
Singapore’s rising star Tim David made his IPL debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year. Although he could not impress much, he ended up with a contract worth 8.25 crore at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction thanks to his exploits in other leagues. However, MI dropped him from their playing XI only after two games.
2. Pat Cummins – One of the highest paid overseas players in IPL 2022
Australian Test captain Pat Cummins’ salary went down from 15.5 crore to 7.25 crore in IPL 2022. Cummins did well in his first game and smashed a quickfire fifty against MI. However, the KKR star could not make an impact with the ball in the few games he played and was later dropped.
3. Odean Smith
Punjab Kings all-rounder Odean Smith won the Man of the Match award on his IPL debut against RCB. But his performance went downhill after that and the West Indian who earned 6 crore at the auction was dropped.
4. Romario Shepherd
Sunrisers Hyderabad raised many eyebrows when they paid 7.75 crore to sign Romario Shepherd. The Caribbean all-rounder played two matches, scalping three wickets at an economy rate of 9.38. He scored 32 runs at an average of 16 and lost his place subsequently.
