IPL 2023: Performance of most expensive buy of each team

All teams were expecting their top players to step up and deliver their best in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to fare well. Earlier, at the 2023 mini-auction held in December 2022, some records purchases were done by the franchises to reserve the services of players who had performed exceptionally in international cricket a few months ahead of the important auction. 

With 2023 having marked its conclusion and CSK emerging as champions, it’s time to analyze the performances of players who got a hefty amount and became the most expensive players for their franchises. Some of them justified their role in their teams with their overwhelming performances while a few players couldn’t live up to the expectations. (Note- GT and RCB have not been considered in this analysis as their most expensive picks got ruled out of the tournament while KKR's second most expensive buy has been considered due to applicable data)

Here is the performance of the most expensive players of each team

1. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)- David Wiese (INR 1 crore)

At the IPL 2023 auction, Shakib Al Hasan had become the most expensive player in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) 2023 squad. The Bangladesh legend was picked up for INR 1.5 crore at the auction but in the tournament, he didn’t participate and to fill his shoes, the two-time IPL champions signed up England opener Jason Roy.

Following Shakib, Namibia player David Wiese had become the second most expensive buy for KKR in the IPL 2023 auction held last year. The South Africa-born Namibia stalwart was fetched for INR 1 crore at the business event. Talking about his performance in the tournament, the veteran got three games, in which he racked up 21 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 190.90.

With the ball, Wiese failed to be impactful as he not only failed to pick up any wickets in the tournament but also plundered runs at an economy of 12.66. In the 33rd match held at Eden Gardens, Wiese bowled a three-over spell against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but he could neither scalp any wickets nor stop the flow of runs.