India, March 31 -- On the official trade sheet, Chennai Super Kings brought in Sanju Samson at Rs.18 crore, while Rajasthan Royals took Ravindra Jadeja, whose fee was revised from Rs.18 crore to Rs.14 crore as part of the deal. On the field in Guwahati, Samson made 6 off 7 at the top, CSK slumped to 41/4 in the powerplay and were bowled out for 127, while Jadeja returned 2 for 18 in 3 overs as RR won by 8 wickets with 47 balls to spare. The trade was agreed in November. The first balance sheet arrived on March 30.

If you borrow the logic of a match-impact ledger rather than stopping at the scorecard, the contrast becomes harsher. A franchise does not pay Rs.18 crore for raw runs or wickets. It pays for phase control, role fulfilment and ...