IPL 2025 turned out to be a nightmare for some teams as some Indian players simply failed to justify their hefty price tag. From the Rs 27 crore buy Rishabh Pant to Rs 9.75 crore worth Ravichandran Ashwin, at least five Indian players who are among the most expensive players have not managed to deliver on the expectations. These stars have turned out to be a liability more than an asset to their respective teams.
5 expensive Indian stars who flopped in IPL 2025
1. Rishabh Pant (Rs 27 crore)
At the top of the list is none other than the LSG captain. The team broke their bank to bag the services of Pant for Rs 27 crore with hopes that he will be able to do a much better job than KL Rahul. What happened next was the exact opposite.
The southpaw was largely inconsistent in this season, struggling to replicate his usual self. In 12 matches, he has only managed to score 135 runs at a strike rate of 100 and averaging 12.27. This includes just one half-century that came in the game against CSK.
2. Venkatesh Iyer (Rs 23.75 crore)
Next on the list is KKR’s Iyer. Well, one could have never imagined that the side would pay Rs 23.75 crore for Venkatesh, only to acquire his services after releasing him ahead of the mega auction. But did he repay the faith? Absolutely not.
Venkatesh managed to score just 142 runs in 11 matches, averaging 20.28. With just one half-century to his name so far in IPL 2025, the southpaw put more pressure on KKR’s middle-order than acting as a top batter.
3. Ishan Kishan (Rs 11.25 crore)
SRH decided to buy Ishan Kishan for Rs 11.25 crore after he was released by MI. In his very first game for the franchise, he showed promising signs with an unbeaten 106-run knock. Thereafter, he was caught in a downward spiral.
Kishan managed to score only 231 runs in 12 matches, averaging 25.66. Despite getting multiple chances, the southpaw failed to capitalize and handed failure after failure to SRH.
4. Mohammed Shami (Rs 10 crore)
Well, SRH should have gotten a clue when GT released the injury-prone pacer ahead of the mega auction. Instead, they placed a bet on him, which did backfire, by paying Rs 10 crore to bag him. However, Shami let the team down big time.
As opposed to spearheading the side’s pace attack, the veteran has delivered a sub-par performance so far in IPL 2025. In 9 matches, he has only managed to pick up 6 wickets. To make matters worse, he boasts of an economy rate of 11.23. Shami has simply not been able to bowl with consistent speed or at consistent lengths in this season.
5. Ravichandran Ashwin (Rs 9.75 crore)
CSK would have been over the moon to get Ashwin back to their side after 10 long years. Until they saw his form in IPL 2025. The veteran managed to take just 7 wickets in 9 matches. He not only has an economy rate of 9.12 in IPL 2025 but averages a miserable 40.42.
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