CHENNAI: Top Indian names who’ve failed to fire in this year’s IPL also include Suresh Raina, normally the backbone of Chennai Super Kings, who has 112 runs in six matches—a below-par show given his `6.76 crore income from this annual extravaganza; Paul Valthaty, of whom much was expected after an impressive outing last year, but has managed only 28 runs in five matches; and Pune Warriors skipper Sourav Ganguly, whose `2.08 crore price tag is backed by 85 runs in six matches.
Among the foreign recruits who haven’t exactly done justice to the money dished out for them are Brendon McCullum, with 26 runs in three matches at `3.37 lakh per run; 41-year-old Kings XI Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist with 99 runs in five matches at `1.47 lakh per run; and Rajasthan Royals’ Johan Botha, whose three wickets in six matches have come at `61.78 lakh per victim; and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori, whose four wickets in six matches works out to `26.85 lakh per wicket. Given its physically-demanding schedule and mentally-sapping expectations, the IPL is about pressure—but also about opportunities to bounce back. In a 54-day tournament spanning 76 matches, today’s flop could be tomorrow’s hero.