For every success story, there are many tales of failure. In this year’s IPL, there has been no dearth of players who have missed their mark.
However, even here there is a hierarchy. There were a number of players still finding their feet or new to the tournament who failed to impress. You can’t pick too many faults in that.
However, there are some who, despite their reputation, experience and hefty salary, performed poorly. Below we take a look at the biggest flops of IPL 2025.
Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Innings: 7, Runs: 142, 50s: 1
It was an unmitigated disaster for the left-handed batter. Bought back by the franchise for an exorbitant sum of $2.8 million, and also discussed as a possible captain following the departure of the title winning Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh fell flat with the bat and looks set to be shipped out.
More than anything, Kolkata’s decision to let a title winning captain go, while splurging on a decent at best T20 cricketer is what rankles the most. The pressure of the price tag probably got to him.
Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants)
Innings: 13, Runs: 269, Avg: 24.45, SR: 133.16, 100s: 1, 50s: 1
Pant scored a century in the last match of the season for Lucknow, with very little to gain. But even with that ton, Pant failed spectacularly in his first season as captain of the Super Giants and the most expensive player in IPL history – with a salary of $3.2m.
Granted, Lucknow lost almost their entire frontline bowling attack to injury. But they had a few overseas players in great form with the bat – namely Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram. All they needed was Pant to play a few useful knocks here and there. But the wicketkeeper captain failed on all counts. His batting is looking ungainly and he just does not look the part in T20 cricket.
Mohammad Shami (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
M: 9, Wkts: 6, Econ: 11.23
The India pace veteran is trying to make a strong comeback from long-term leg injuries but he has just not been the same since the 2023 ODI World Cup. He has suffered numerous setbacks on his return from injury and in the IPL struggled to pick wickets or restrict runs – something many of his contemporaries did throughout on wickets conducive to bowlers.
Shami should consider himself lucky if he continues to get picked in top-level competitions.
Ravichandran Ashwin (Chennai Super Kings)
M: 9, Wkts: 7, Econ: 9.12
For some reason, Chennai management thought Ashwin was worth over a million dollars during the auction. Actually, it does not come as a surprise as they also thought that Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda and Vijay Shankar are a good T20 middle order.
Ashwin has lost his zip, already replaced by Washington Sundar at the national level. Predominant finger spinners have almost no space in the IPL, and that too those at the end of their careers. Chennai quickly moved on from him.
Glenn Maxwell (Punjab Kings)
M: 7, Runs: 48, Avg: 8.00
The Aussie is a proven performer at the international level, especially during major tournaments, but has missed his mark for two straight seasons in IPL. Maxwell was disastrously poor, even in a winning side like Punjab filled with in-form batters.
Not sure how many franchises will pick him in future. But then again, there is a T20 World Cup early next year. He might shine there and all could be forgotten.
Jake Fraser-McGurk (Delhi Capitals)
Innings: 6, Runs: 55, Avg: 9.16
There was a fear that the young Aussie batter’s technique could soon be unraveled as he does not have an all-round game and looks susceptible on pitches with any sort of help.
Unfortunately for Fraser-McGurk, teams had already done their homework on his technique and the pitches were more than responsive. After six failures, the 23-year-old was benched. He will now have to go back to the drawing board to show the franchise, and possibly the Australian selectors, that he is not a one trick pony.
