- Expensive IPL stars underperformed, failing to justify high salaries.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rohit Sharma had disappointing seasons.
- Suryakumar Yadav struggled significantly, contributing to Mumbai’s struggles.
- Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran also failed to impress.
The highly demanding platform of the TATA IPL 2026 season has subjected several multi-crore international superstars to intense public scrutiny following a series of underwhelming domestic campaigns. While bargain-buy assets consistently punched above their weight, an aggregated social media compilation has highlighted an expensive group of underperforming heavyweights who completely failed to justify their massive franchise retention salaries.
The Luxury Top Order Failure
Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad sits prominently within this controversial line-up after enduring a highly mediocre seasonal run. Despite receiving a staggering retained salary of 18 crore rupees, the elegant opening batsman managed to accumulate just 337 runs across his 14 league appearances.
National team captain Rohit Sharma endured a similarly frustrating tournament, missing multiple initial league fixtures due to a sudden fitness issue. Upon returning to the Mumbai Indians squad, the senior opener looked exceptionally rusty, managing only 283 runs across his nine outings.
Dynamic middle-order asset Suryakumar Yadav became a central factor behind Mumbai’s absolute bottom-of-the-table finish this summer. The destructive short-format specialist appeared completely ineffective against disciplined bowling units, scraping together a mere 270 runs at an average of 20.77.
WATCH POST
Scam 11 of IPL 2026
Missing Anyone?? pic.twitter.com/Kcy9ZB4OnV— 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 👑 (@Goatlism) May 27, 2026
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The Multi-Crore Superstars Who Blew Fortune Assets
Ruturaj Gaikwad (₹18 Crore): The Chennai Super Kings captain completely disappointed fans by scoring only 337 runs in 14 matches at a very poor average of just 28.
Rohit Sharma (₹16.30 Crore): Missed multiple crucial league matches due to injury and completely failed on return, scoring just 283 runs in his nine appearances.
Suryakumar Yadav (₹16.30 Crore): The main reason behind Mumbai Indians’ absolute failure this year, scoring a miserable 270 runs at a horrific average of 20.77.
Rishabh Pant (₹27 Crore): The most expensive player in IPL history failed totally as Delhi captain and managed only 312 runs in his 14 matches.
Nicholas Pooran (₹21 Crore): The Lucknow Super Giants big-hitter took a massive salary but averaged a shocking 18 throughout the entire 2026 tournament.
Jitesh Sharma (Price Flop): Emerged as the biggest weakness for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the middle overs, scoring just 105 runs without a single half-century.
Hardik Pandya (₹16.35 Crore): Faced heavy criticism for his terrible captaincy and scored a miserable 430 runs across the last two full seasons combined.
Washington Sundar (Price Flop): Did not bowl much during the tournament and completely failed with the bat, scoring 311 runs without playing any match-winning innings.
Arshdeep Singh (₹18 Crore): Led the Punjab Kings bowling attack but proved highly expensive, taking an underwhelming 14 wickets in his 14 league matches.
Jasprit Bumrah (Price Flop): Ruined Mumbai Indians’ season by recording his highest economy rate in 10 years and taking just four wickets in 14 games.
Trent Boult (Price Flop): Lost his lethal opening swing completely this season, playing only five matches and picking up a disastrous tally of two wickets.
MS Dhoni (Price Flop): Did not play a single match all season but kept fans waiting by constantly hinting at a big return to the squad.
