Any cricketer is judged by his or her performance on the field. At the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/ipl/" target="_blank">Indian Premier League</a>, there is another parameter – player salary. The fabulous sums of money splurged on acquiring the service of the top talents means there is extra scrutiny on their performances, and also added pressure on the players to live up to those expectations. But just because a player is picked up for a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/ipl/2022/02/13/ipl-2022-auction-ishan-kishan-and-wanindu-hasaranga-hit-jackpot/" target="_blank">million dollars at the IPL auction</a>, does not mean he will score 600 runs or take 30 wickets. However, the world of T20 franchise cricket is fairly binary when it comes to assessing results in a two-month long tournament. At the end of the day, more than $70m was spent on players by franchises who expect returns on their investment. And going by what has transpired in the first half of IPL 2022, it remains a case of hit and miss. Among the top names that were retained or acquired before the auction earlier in the year, proven <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/ipl/2022/04/23/jos-buttlers-third-ton-of-ipl-2022-overshadowed-by-no-ball-controversy/" target="_blank">T20 performers like Jos Buttler</a>, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and KL Rahul have been in fine form; all of them landed contracts in the $1-2 million range. However, there are retentions like Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Charavarty and Ruturaj Gaikwad who are yet to fire. Out of the 50 IPL 2022 millionaires, many were 'bought' in the auction. And it has not panned out well for some of them. On the other hand, players who were acquired for their base price after minimal bidding have managed to impress. In the picture gallery above, we have picked the best value for money players and the most expensive flops so far in IPL 2022. List includes names who were snapped up at the auction.
