Sunil Gavaskar has criticised IPL franchises for investing heavily in players who struggled to justify their auction valuations, arguing that several teams committed substantial resources to recruits who ultimately played only limited roles during the tournament. Writing in his column for Sportstar, the former India Captain said the league continues to expose flaws in player evaluation and recruitment processes.
Expensive bets delivered uneven returns
A number of relatively inexperienced players attracted major bids ahead of the season despite limited domestic records. Chennai Super Kings paid ₹14.20 crore (approx. US$1.5 million) each for Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru spent ₹5.20 crore (approx. US$545K) on Mangesh Yadav.
Kolkata Knight Riders secured Tejasvi Dahiya for ₹3 crore (approx. US$314K), while Lucknow Super Giants invested ₹2.60 crore (approx. US$272K) in Mukul Choudhary.
The outcomes varied significantly. Kartik emerged as the most successful of the group, scoring 295 runs in 11 matches and registering two half-centuries. Prashant featured in six matches and finished with 90 runs and two wickets, while Dahiya scored 18 runs in two appearances. Choudhary made 170 runs across 10 matches, and Mangesh did not play during the campaign.
Gavaskar questions the value of local league performances
Using his Sportstar column to examine how franchises assess emerging talent, Gavaskar pointed to the growing influence of state and city T20 competitions on auction strategies.
He wrote: “A lot of the big hitters in the various State and city leagues that have sprouted up were exposed when faced with the international quality of bowling in the IPL. In the State and city leagues, the standard of both batting and bowling is nowhere near as good, and unless the scouts have a discerning eye and don’t get swayed by player agents, the franchises will keep picking players based on these performances and find they have wasted their money.”
Recruitment scrutiny intensifies
The limited involvement of several expensive signings has renewed discussion around how franchises identify talent and whether auction prices are sometimes influenced by short-term performances rather than broader evidence of a player’s ability.
Gavaskar returned to that theme later in his Sportstar column when discussing the role played by scouts and advisers in recruitment decisions.
He said: “When a franchise picks a player for crores and then doesn’t play him in more than a couple of games, it tells you that their scouts and advisers have sold them a dummy. The IPL very quickly finds a player out as being overrated and overvalued. Yet there will be players who will have one performance in the tournament, and it’s usually in a match of not much consequence for their team and on the basis of that performance be picked for another year. One could make at least four teams of such one-match performers who will be picked again and again in the IPL.”
The comments highlight ongoing questions around scouting effectiveness and player valuation as franchises prepare for future auctions and continue searching for the next generation of IPL talent.
