It has been a fascinating 18th edition at the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a lot of drama, both, on and off the field. The tournament resumed again on the 17th of May after a 10-day hiatus due to political tensions between India and Pakistan. While the season has witnessed some memorable performances, there have been a few big players who haven’t lived up to their reputation and failed miserably this year. From Rishabh Pant to Glenn Maxwell to Jake Fraser-McGurk, from Mohammed Shami to Rachin Ravindra – we look at five stars who haven’t quite twinkled in this edition.
1. Glenn Maxwell (Punjab Kings)
Glenn Maxwell’s IPL stock took a big hit and continued to spiral down for a second successive season after the Australian T20 superstar could muster just 48 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 97.95 before a finger injury ruled him out of the tournament. Maxwell registered four single-digit scores and looked all at sea against the spinners this season – he scored just 30 runs off 29 deliveries getting dismissed 5 out of 6 times by the slower bowlers.
Maxwell had a horrendous run in IPL 2024 too, scoring just 52 runs in nine innings at a paltry average of 5.77 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. A change in franchise did not change the fortunes of the Australian all-rounder.
2. Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants)
Rishabh Pant was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping INR 27 crore making him the most expensive player in IPL Auction history! The LSG skipper, however, has failed to deliver and been a patch of the T20 batter he was between 2017-2019 – his peak in the IPL. Pant has managed to score just 128 runs in 11 matches at a shocking strike rate of 99.22 – it is the lowest strike rate amongst the 67 batters who have scored a minimum of 100 runs in the season!
Pant has registered 6 single-digit scores this season while also failing in two other outings. He has produced just one substantial knock (63 off 49 balls) – that too in a losing cause against Chennai Super Kings. Pant’s sluggish rate of scoring has put enormous pressure on the LSG middle-order and is one of the prime reasons for their reversal of fortunes after a blistering start to the season.
3. Mohammed Shami (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Mohammed Shami has been an IPL great and one of the most prolific wicket-takers in the last five editions of the tournament. In fact, Shami was the highest wicket-taker in the IPL between 2019 and 2023 and bagged a total of 106 wickets in 75 outings at a sensational strike rate of 16.2 in these five seasons.
Shami’s dramatic drop in form in IPL 2025 has been one of the major reasons for the poor showing by his new franchise – Sunrisers Hyderabad – the finalists from last season. The veteran Indian pacer has just picked 6 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 56.17 in the competition while also being very expensive – Shami has been hit around the park and has an economy rate of 11.23 runs per over. The pacer has been so under-par that he was dropped from the SRH playing XI for a couple of matches.
4. Jake Fraser-McGurk (Delhi Capitals)
Jake Fraser McGurk was one of the shining lights of the revolutionary IPL season last year when he blasted 330 runs in just nine innings at a startling strike rate of 234.04 – it was the highest strike rate in the tournament amongst all batters who scored a minimum of 100 runs!
However, cricket is a great leveller and Fraser-McGurk has learnt that the hard way in IPL 2025. He mustered just 55 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 105.76 for the Delhi Capitals before being dropped from the XI. Interestingly, the young Australian sensation struggled against pace this season with fast bowlers accounting for five of his six dismissals.
5. Rachin Ravindra (Chennai Super Kings)
IPL 2025 was supposed to be the big breakthrough season for Rachin Ravindra – the T20 batter. Unfortunately, the New Zealand star would need to wait a little longer after a disappointing season with the bat for Chennai Super Kings. Ravindra had an aggregate of just 191 runs in 8 innings with just one fifty-plus score to his credit. With the exception of his unbeaten 65 off 45 deliveries in CSK’s opening encounter against Mumbai Indians at Chepauk, the left-hander had nothing much to write home about.
Ravindra had outright failures in four innings while failing to convert his starts into significant scores in three others. Interestingly, Ravindra had his troubles against pace this season scoring 107 runs off 87 balls at an average of 21.4 and strike rate of 123 against the fast bowlers.
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