IPL 2025: 5 GT expensive flops who may not have a buyer next year

While some of the big-ticket players dazzled, others did not quite live up to their cost. These are five such GT performers who disappointed big time—and might not find buyers next season.

These five players, though talented and well-known, did not deliver in IPL 2025. With the auction for 2026 looming and sides wanting in-form and impactful names, these erstwhile candidates who cost a lot may struggle to find another contract—unless they get a dramatic turnaround shortly.

1. Gerald Coetzee

Hyped as the seam-bowling next big thing of South Africa, Coetzee was purchased for ₹ 2.40 crore at auction. In four matches, however, he collected only two wickets and was also guilty of a telling dropped catch in the Eliminator that turned the tide against the Titans. What was to be a spearhead show then turned out to be a harbinger of the fact that raw pace doesn't always work unless it is supplemented with dogged execution.

2. Shahrukh Khan

Signed by the Gujarat Titans for ₹4 crore, Shahrukh Khan was supposed to be the finisher they badly needed. Instead, the right-hander struggled throughout the season, contributing just 147 runs from 13 innings at an average of 16.33, with a strike rate below 125. His top score—a 57 in the Eliminator—came too little, too late to compensate for previous failures. In all but one game, he appeared confused about his contribution and did not pick up the pace when the team needed him. This was a big step in the wrong direction for someone who was regarded as an emerging Indian player.

3. Mahipal Lomror

Selected as a middle-order batsman with the ability to roll his arm over, Mahipal Lomror hardly made any impact. He appeared in 4 games, managing only 31 runs and not grabbing a single wicket. He was never really settled at the crease, repeatedly getting out to soft ways, and didn't do enough with the ball to make up for it. For ₹1.7 crore, GT were looking for an impact player but received an opener who couldn't nail down an XI spot. His failure to perform with bat and ball can deter franchises from taking him next year.

4. Ishant Sharma

Seasoned fast bowler Ishant Sharma was called in as a depth option, but he played in 7 games and could not deliver. He picked just 4 wickets, with an economy rate of 9.14 and consistently conceded pressure-releasing overs. Though he retained the experience, his pace lacked sting and his lengths were more or less telegraphed. Ishant is 35 now, and perhaps the end of his T20 years is near, and this season didn't make it easier for him. For a bowler who was once dreaded during the powerplay, the decline has been painful to witness.

5. Karim Janat 

As GT's ninth-ever Afghan signing, Janat turned up for a relatively modest ₹75 lakh but looked like he was cut out for bigger things. Yet, he played in just one game—his first, against Rajasthan Royals—and bowled only 1 over, conceding 30 runs without a single wicket. That brutal initiation (economy 30.00) had him being dropped straight away, and he never received a second opportunity. For an all-rounder unsigned by any team previously, that one-game cameo did nothing to vindicate even his relatively modest price tag.

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