IPL 2020: Run-machine Devdutt Padikkal earned just $27,000 while Kedar Jadhav's 62 runs cost $1 million

The players who were great value for money and those who did not justify their price tag this season

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY PLAYERS: Devdutt Padikkal (RCB). Matches: 15, Runs: 473, Salary: $27,000. The Royal Challengers opener was an absolute steal for the runs he scored at the top of the order and is a future India star. Sportzpics for BCCI

T Natarajan (SRH): Matches: 16, Wickets: 16, Salary: $53,000. The left-arm fast bowler has outperformed a lot more illustrious bowlers this season, emerging as a specialist T20 option for India. Sportzpics for BCCI

Deepak Chahar (CSK): Matches: 14, Wickets: 12, Salary: $107,000. It's incredible he gets paid only that when you consider he is an India international and a proven T20 performer. Sportzpics for BCCI

Mayank Agarwal (KXIP): Matches: 11, Runs: 424, Salary: $134,000. A phenomenon at the top of the order with KL Rahul. Did very well on some challenging wickets. Imagine what he can do on flat decks back in India. Sportzpics for BCCI

Wriddhiman Saha (SRH): Matches: 4, Runs: 214, Salary: $161,000. The best value for money player in IPL 2020. Match-winner with the bat at the business end of the tournament, unfortunate to get injured. Sportzpics for BCCI

Faf du Plessis (CSK): Matches: 13, Runs: 449, Salary: $215,000. The one player who held Chennai's batting together. A shame his runs and fighting spirit didn't count for anything in the end. Sportzpics for BCCI

WORST VALUE FOR MONEY PLAYERS: Sunil Narine (KKR): Matches: 10, Runs: 121, Wickets: 5. Salary: $1.6m. The magic of Narine is well and truly gone. His batting got exposed and his bowling does not have the bite it used to. Sportzpics for BCCI

Glenn Maxwell (KXIP): Matches: 13, Runs: 108, Wickets: 3. Salary: $1.4m The Australian all-rounder had an utterly forgettable season with bat and ball. His confidence must have taken a hit. Sportzpics for BCCI

Sheldon Cottrell (KXIP): Matches: 6, Wickets: 6, Salary: $1.14m. The Windies left-arm seamer became more of a burden than an asset. Only offers bowling and went for nearly nine an over in the UAE. Sportzpics for BCCI

Andre Russell (KKR): Matches: 10, Runs: 117, Wickets: 6. Salary: $1.14m. A total disaster for the all-rounder. His fitness levels are not what they should be for his power game. Bowled better than he batted. Sportzpics for BCCI

Kedar Jadhav (CSK): Matches: 8. Runs: 62. Salary: $1.05m. You will struggle to find a player more out of form than Jadhav. His batting was so rusty, only figured in five out of eight games. Sportzpics for BCCI

Krishnappa Gowtham (KXIP): Matches 2. Wickets: 1. Salary: $835,000. Gowtham had a poor 2019 season as well. Expect him to slip down the pecking order pretty fast next year. Sportzpics for BCCI

IPL is about a lot of things – runs, wickets, acrobatic fielding, drama and millions of viewers. What it is also undoubtedly about is money.

Franchises pay a lot of dollars – sometimes in the millions – to get the very best players from across the globe. A majority of cricketers set aside everything else for a two-and-a-half-month period to give it their all and then some for their franchises.

But when you get paid so much, expectations are equally high. For every millionaire cricketer who proves to be worth every penny, there seem to be at least two each season who do not come close to justifying their salaries.

On the other hand, some players don't attract as much attention or pay packets but end up outperforming the mega-rich.

There have been a few such players in the just concluded IPL 2020. To view the best and worst value for money players in this edition of the tournament, view the gallery above.

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