Despite being the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League’s history, England’s World Cup hero Sam Curran is facing criticism for his below-par performance with bat and ball.

Curran was bought by Punjab Kings for a whopping $2.23 million, but the team is currently languishing in eighth place in the 10-team table and is unlikely to qualify for the knock-out phase.

As of early Monday, with just one week remaining in the group phase, Curran was ranked 39th on the runs table with only one half-century and 216 runs from 11 innings.

Faf du Plessis, the South African batsman of the Bangalore team, has scored almost three times more runs and has seven half-centuries to top the batting charts.Curran, the left-arm fast bowler who was player of the tournament at the T20 World Cup for his run-stifling bowling at the death, has been ineffective with the ball as well.

He has only managed seven wickets (51st position) with an economy rate of over 10. The latest critic to comment on the 24-year-old’s underwhelming performance is former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who unfavorably compared Curran to his bargain-priced teammate Prabhsimran Singh after the latter’s century on Saturday.

“You bought Sam Curran for ($2.23 million), what has he done?” Sehwag told the website Cricbuzz.Despite the record-setting price tag, Sehwag had previously criticized Curran last month, stating that “he doesn’t have that experience yet.”

After a previous stint in the IPL with Chennai, Curran has made a strong start in this season’s competition. He stepped in as captain for Punjab in the absence of injured player Shikhar Dhawan and played decisive roles in two out of three matches. In particular, his bowling figures of 3-31 – his best this season – helped Punjab secure a victory against Lucknow, and his 29-ball 55 earned him the Player of the Match award in a game against the Mumbai Indians.

Despite the high fee paid for his services, Curran has attempted to downplay the pressure, stating in an interview with Sky Sports last month: “They’ve put a lot of faith in me and I guess I’m the type of person who tries not to put too much pressure on myself. Hopefully, I can deliver some good performances for the team. The price tag is what it is.”

Despite a promising start to the current IPL season, Curran has since struggled to perform on the challenging pitches and conditions, leading to criticism from pundits like Simon Doull. The former New Zealand paceman picked Curran as his biggest disappointment of the season, citing his poor bowling figures at the death and failure to live up to his high price tag.

However, Curran is not the only expensive player to disappoint in this year’s IPL. Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who was the second most expensive buy in the auction, has been decent but not spectacular, hitting 274 runs and taking only six wickets for Mumbai Indians.

Several English players have also failed to meet expectations, which could be a concern for the country’s upcoming matches in the Ashes and one-day World Cup. England Test skipper Ben Stokes managed only two underwhelming performances for Chennai Super Kings before being sidelined with an injury. Harry Brook, who scored the first century of this season, has also struggled to make an impact for Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring just 63 runs in eight matches.

Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle expressed disappointment in Brook’s performance, saying that he had high expectations for the young batsman after seeing his century in Kolkata.