IPL 6: The million dollar babies who are failing the test

A decade ago, my father was of the opinion that becoming an engineer or a doctor is the most respectable job one could make a living from. Like the dialogue in ‘3 Idiots’: “Degree nahin hogi toh koi job nahin dega, koi baap apni beti nahin dega, society respect nahin degi’. Keeping that in mind, most others like me gave up on the small chance we had to making a career out of cricket. Then came a transformation called IPL. The Indian Premier League was a windfall in disguise for those who kept hoping that one day the religious sport will change their lives forever. And it did exactly that! It was no longer a criteria to have strong internal connections to be a part of the Indian cricket team; IPL provided endless opportunities. This format eventually led many other Twenty20 leagues like the KPL, BPL, SLPL, CPL and even CL. Millions of dollars were served with millions of opportunities for millions of dreams. [caption id=“attachment_711740” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jadeja needs to put some good performances. BCCI[/caption] Here are a few Indian players who really managed to fill their lockers with money and join the league to call themselves ‘The Million Dollar Babies’ without ever showing the performances to back that claim. Yusuf Pathan They say relationships and marriages are a form of distraction for cricketers; but when it comes to Yusuf neither of them really mattered. In 2011, the front-foot lofter’s career was firmly put on the back foot. After being purchased for a gigantic sum of $2.1 million, the elder Pathan’s average faced an all-time low season. A hundred in the 2010 edition of the IPL was just a mirage which vanished and was never to be seen again. Well, it seems like nothing is going right for Yusuf right now including his execution from the Champions League squad. Maybe it’s time to come out of the honeymoon period and do what he is best known for.  Robin Uthappa I have been a great fan of his reverse sweeps back in his RCB times. Since the time his contract was terminated by the King of Good Times, Team RCB, and was purchased by the Pune Warriors India, Robin’s form hasn’t been as devastating as the decision to buy him for $ 2.1million was. In 2012, he provided some crucial starts and even hit a couple of 50s, but he definitely could not convert them into match-winning performances. With just one year to go before the next auction, Robin better set his house in order.  Ravindra Jadeja You are worth Rs 10 crore if you are a great fielder or a great bowler or a great batsman. But sometimes you are worth a $2 million for simply being ‘Sir’ Ravindra Jadeja. He hasn’t scored a 50 in an IPL match nor has he taken a five-wicket haul; but he surely has luck favouring him. Back when he was purchased and was honoured with the knighthood of being called Sir, Jadeja only managed to score 191 runs in his 19 encounters with an average close to 16. Yes, he has been a part of many CSK last-ball finishes in the last two years but how long can the team run solely on luck?  Saurabh Tiwary If you are still wondering who he is, Saurabh Tiwary is the Dhoni look-a-like from Jharkhand who managed to play a few games for the Indian international side. Excuse my memory lapse because it’s been a while that I have seen him play. Purchased by the RCB’s for $1.4 million, Saurabh has not been able to provide the finishes RCB expected him to. With a mere average of 23 and no 50s and 100s in the bag, Saurabh has some serious alternative career-planning to do before the next year’s auction.  Other than these players, there have been a few players who have proved their worth for a million dollar. Gautam Gambhir’s current form has been exceptional. The Mumbai Indian’s player Rohit Sharma has been consistently proving his worth with his sixes and last ball finishes for the team. A few international players like Mahela, Kallis, Gayle and a few others have worked hard to put that extra bit of effort to pull their team towards the victorious side. With less than ten months to go only the next year’s auction will talk the worth of each player. Share your comments on the blog here or join me on facebook.com/dakshinadyanthaya or follow me on twitter @upsidedakshin