- June 5, 2025
Each IPL season comes with grand hope, exciting finishes, and unforgettable performances. But with all the greats, we too have had some big names that leave us pondering their decisions as fans. The same goes for the IPL season 2025. RCB finally broke their title curse while PBKS nearly followed suit, but alongside those developments and memories were some names that all but disappeared, delivering nothing for their price point and seasoned experience.
The Hype vs Reality Trap
Let’s revisit the top order to see where it all fell apart. With blitzkrieg innings etched in memory, ₹9 crore says Jake’s not here to participate—he’s here to pulverize. Unfortunately for Fraser-McGurk, though, IPL 2025 was a different story entirely, as he managed a contribution of 55 runs in six innings before he was shelved. Ouch.
Rachin Ravindra’s 2025 was a similar story. After a successful red-ball season, many fans expected him to convert that success into T20 as a CSK recruit. However, in the end, it was merely 191 runs in eight innings, even haphazardly falling apart in the back end as he could neither anchor from the top nor accelerate in the middle order.
And now we have Ishan Kishan, who had a rather bizarre season. Yes, he opened with a century and scored 94 in the second last game, but sandwiched in between was an all-time dismal effort of 154 runs in 12 matches. Kishan’s rollercoaster of a season left SRH with more questions than answers, and also some ruined remote controls along the way.
Pant & Maxwell Lead the Downfall
Rishabh Pant made a highly publicized return from injury in the IPL. LSG didn’t just break the bank—they bulldozed it for ₹27 crore to land their marquee man. He scored 151 runs in 13 games, and his one last inning of 118 notwithstanding, that’s only a little over 11 a game (making an allowance for the final ton). Not captaincy material.
One of the bigger disappointments, yet again, Glenn Maxwell managed to score only 48 runs in seven games for the Punjab Kings. One wonders if his IPL magic is completely spent, since this is the second year in a row in which he has struggled to get to 50 runs in total.
Liam Livingstone did not help RCB’s middle order much either; with only 112 runs in 10 games, he was of little use. Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed to the rubbish, providing mediocrity at best. Neither batsman had any impact whatsoever, and Reddy, as a supposed useful all-rounder, only picked up two wickets.
Bowling Blunders: Big Names, Small Impact
Ashwin’s return to the Super Kings was priced at ₹9.75 crore, but the nostalgia? That came free of cost. In the end, he took only seven wickets in nine games. Not disastrous, but nowhere near match-winning.
Mohammed Shami didn’t have the best time during the season, to say the least. SRH bought him for ₹10 crore and managed only six wickets in nine matches with an economy rate of over 11, yikes. It was such a bad time that he dropped out of the season and was dropped completely from the Test team for the tour to England.
Rashid Khan didn’t make the XI because of the overseas player limit, but he does deserve an honorable mention as he had a sub-par season: nine wickets, in 15 games, at an economy of 9.34. Painful considering his recent history.
So, what do you think? Do any of these players deserve to get another chance next season? Or is it time for the franchises to move on? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and remember: in cricket terms, there is always redemption next season.
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