The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 brought in big bucks for players that were expecting and some unsuspecting ones. With a hefty prize come big expectations. Ask any player who was among the top 10 costliest buys in the auction and didn’t perform.
To some the big price tag is like a guillotine, ready to be dropped after just a couple of bad performances. IPL franchises know and tell that raising the bids happened because they wanted the player for their skills. Many times that isn’t the case as teams bid higher to weaken other teams in the auction or go for an impulsive buy.
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Players themselves know that skills remain but form and the confidence derived from that form is the most important. For Indian players it is much more important to go into the IPL with good numbers. Here are some of them who are struggling in the domestic circuit and will hope to improve their numbers.
Ever since he was dropped from the national side, Ishan Kishan has hit rocky road to his comeback. The Jharkhand batter scored just 171 runs from six matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament (SMAT) with a high score of 77 not out as his team dropped out of the playoffs race.
That didn’t discourage Sunrisers Hyderabad as they bought the keeper-batter for a price of INR 11.6 crore in the auction. Kishan, known for his hard hitting, wasn’t that impressive in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 316 runs from seven innings which included just one hundred against Group A minnows Manipur. Kishan’s poor form also contributed to Jharkhand crashing out of the quarterfinals race by finishing third in the group.
The Tamil Nadu pacer was believed to have cemented his place as a regular in the national side following his all-format debut in the 2020-21 tour of Australia. However, the left-arm pacer’s struggles with multiple injuries saw him sidelined from the Indian team as well as Tamil Nadu.
He hasn’t played for his domestic side since December, 2023 and plied his trade in the Tamil Nadu Premier League for Tiruppur Tamizhans. He has done a decent job picking up 12 wickets from eight matches at an average of 17.5. But his last competitive outing was the TNPL playoffs way back in August last year. This didn’t deter Delhi Capitals to shell out INR 10.75 crore for the 33-year-old and it is to be seen if he will replicate his performances in the previous editions of IPL.
Rahul Tripathi’s burgeoning reputation in the IPL due to his batting exploits in IPL 2021 and 2022 earned him an India call-up in 2023. But his star declined as fast as it rose. The Maharashtra batter has been out of sorts since last season where he scored 165 runs from six IPL matches and his domestic numbers aren’t that impressive either.
Tripathi managed just 123 runs from six innings in SMAT at a strike rate of 144 and the total dwindled in the Vijay Hazare Trophy despite Maharashtra reaching the semifinals. From eight innings so far, Tripathi has managed just 118 runs with only fifty to his name. He hasn’t been effective in the No.4 slot for his state team and can only hope that he can find a suitable role at Chennai Super Kings who bought him for INR 3.4 crore.
Lucknow Super Giants shelled out INR 4.2 crore for Abdul Samad who was a key batter in the lower order for SRH over the last two seasons. However, his stats haven’t been good in the limited-overs playing for Jammu & Kashmir. He has scored 139 runs in SMAT from six innings at a strike rate of 150 and 182 runs from five matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where J&K didn’t make it to the knock-out phase.
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It is harsh to judge the 23-year-old early, but he needs a lift up with his domestic numbers. Possibly, it might come in the Ranji Trophy which resumes later in January as he has 350 runs from eight innings at an average of 50. Hopefully, the price tag might feel lighter once the IPL begins.
It was a surprise decision by KKR to release Nitish Rana, one of their most consistent performers for years, into the auction after a title-winning season. The UP batter was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals INR 4.2 crore as a result which might just be RR’s gain.
All those predictions aside, Rana’s performances have nosedived in the domestic circuit.
In SMAT, Rana has played nine matches in total and has contributed just 111 runs at a poor strike rate of 114. He has not played the floater role for the state team, but at No.4 which has yielded lackluster results. He has only featured in the two matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and managed 17 runs.
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