New Delhi:Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen a lot of players being bought on the promise of talent but none was better than a choice Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made ahead of IPL 2021 auction.

They bought a player from Punjab Kings (then KXIP) for INR 9.25 crore (US$ 1,273,000 approx.) but never played him in the season.

Moreover, CSK won the title in IPL 2021 and the player - Krishnappa Gotham - went on to win the title without breaking a sweat and pocketing all the money.

Before he won with CSK, he already had a title to his name with Mumbai Indians in 2017 - that too without playing for them in the season.

Isn't Krishnappa Gowtham the quirkiest buy of the IPL history? Let's have a look at his journey:

Gowtham is only one of the 10 players to win a title with both MI (2017) and CSK (2021) but the only player to do so without playing a single game for any of the franchise. He even played for India in one off ODI in July 2021 against Sri Lanka and that remains his only international appearance.

It was with Rajasthan Royals in 2018 that Gowtham caught limelight of Shane Warne - Royals skipper during 2008 IPL title win.

He played full season with RR in IPL 2018 and took 11 wickets - showing promise. He also took the team to win against MI with 11 ball 33 not out in a crunch game.

Krishnappa Gowtham's IPL career has been full of ups and downs. In the year 2018, he played the most 15 matches and scored 126 runs, with his highest score being 33* and his strike rate being 196.87. After this, in 2019, he scored 18 runs in 7 matches, while in 2020 he scored 42 runs while playing in just 2 matches, with 22* being his best score and an average of 42.00.

In the year 2022, Gowtham got 4 matches but he could not score a single run. In 2023, he scored 61 runs in 7 matches, with 23 being his highest score and his strike rate being 164.86. In 2024, he played only one match but did not bat. Overall, Krishnappa Gowtham has scored 247 runs in 36 matches in the IPL so far, with his best score being 33*.