India, April 6 -- Chennai Super Kings paid Rs.28.4 crore for Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer. In the latest game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, that expensive two-man package produced a combined final impact score of 48.17 in the master sheet. In the same match, Sarfaraz Khan, bought for just Rs.75 lakh, produced 56.87 on his own.

That is the part CSK should worry about most. This is no longer just a bargain story about Sarfaraz. It is now a value story that throws a harsh light on how little return CSK are getting from some of their costlier bets.

Spread across a 14-match league phase, Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer together cost CSK roughly Rs.2.03 crore per match. In Bengaluru, when their output is measured against the value b...