Rishabh Pant was secured by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping amount of Rs 27 crore at the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025. Even though the cricketer didn't have a great season, he led the team and played all 14 matches in the league stage. If you go by matches played and performance, Pant is certainly not the most expensive player. Delhi Capitals' fast bowler T Natarajan was the most expensive in this case as he played only two matches and earned a massive salary of Rs 10.75 crore.
Natarajan earned Rs 5.37 crore per match as, for unknown reasons, the Capitals never included him in the playing XI until things got desperate at the fag end of the season. The left-arm fast bowler played only two matches in IPL 2025 and didn't pick up a single wicket.
It seems unlikely that Natarajan was injured as he was practicing and traveling with the team all along. Given that the franchise secured his services for a whopping amount of Rs 10.75 crore at the auction, the cricketer should've been a part of their first XI.
But after more than two months, Natarajan, for no fault of his, finds himself in trouble, with no game time in this IPL edition. After one of the league stage matches, when DC mentor Kevin Pietersen was asked about Natarajan's absence, he had stated that they are not able to make space for the fast bowler.
Interestingly, the likes of Mukesh Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Dushmantha Chameera played ahead of him. While Mukesh did well, picking up 12 wickets in as many matches, Mohit and Chameera never stepped up to the expectations and kept getting more chances. Mohit Sharma was extremely poor, accounting for only two wickets in eight matches at a poor average of 128.5. On the other hand, Chameera picked up only four wickets in five innings and his economy was 11.4.
When the pace bowling attack was struggling immensely, it was perplexing to see why T Natarajan was continuously benched. When he got the chance, things had already got desperate for the Delhi side and two matches weren't enough for the player to showcase his skills.
Natarajan failed to pick up a single wicket in two outings and conceded 49 runs in three overs that he bowled. Only if DC had given him enough game time, Natarajan could've emerged as a better bowler for them and who knows, results would've been different too!