In the Indian Premier League (IPL), there has never been any shortage
of star power as there are players recruited from all around the globe.
As a result, many players who otherwise would deserve a chance are
forced to miss out.
Here, we present to you a list of players who have done well in the
past in the IPL but are yet to be picked in the playing XI for their
respective teams this season:
#1 Michael Hussey (CSK)
Michael Hussey has been one of Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) most
consistent performers over the years. After playing for CSK from 2008 to
2013, the legendary Australian batsman was picked up by Mumbai Indians
(MI). However, after a moderate season, he has now returned to the
franchise where he made his name as far as the IPL is concerned.
Hussey,
who became the second batsman to score a century in the IPL after
Brendon McCullum when he made 116 against Kings XI Punjab in 2008, was
monumental in CSK winning the IPL in 2010 and 2011 as well as the CLT20
in 2010.
Apart from his cricketing ability, his work ethics and
willingness to contribute to the team’s cause have made him the ideal
role model for the younger players to follow.
#2 Manan Vohra (KXIP)
Young opener Manan Vohra was recruited by the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)
ahead of the 2013 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in which he
scored 161 runs from 12 games. He was surprisingly retained by KXIP for
the 2014 season, and he proved his worth big time by scoring 324 runs in
the 8 matches that he played.
Vohra, who did really well last
season, has unfortunately missed out on being part of the playing XI
this season as KXIP’s new recruit Murali Vijay has been chosen to play
ahead of him, opening the innings with Virender Sehwag.
#3 Shaun Marsh (KXIP)
The left-handed opener Shaun Marsh came into prominence after opening
the innings for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and winning the Orange Cap in
IPL 2008. Despite missing IPL 2009 and a part of the tournament in 2010,
Marsh continues to be an integral part of the Punjab franchise. He is
one international player who has benefitted immensely from the IPL.
KXIP
decided to retain him at the end of the third season when all the teams
were revamped. Marsh is the leading run-getter for KXIP with 1973 runs
from 52 games and has an average of 43.84. The fact that Marsh is
currently missing from the playing XI only goes to show the tremendous
strength in depth that KXIP have amongst their overseas players in
particular.
#4 Lendl Simmons (MI)
The West Indian batsman was drafted into the Mumbai Indians
(MI) squad last season as a replacement for Madhya Pradesh all-rounder
Jalaj Saxena. He made an immediate impact as an opener as he scored a
whopping 394 runs in the 8 games that he played for MI.
Simmons
played a key role in helping MI reach the knockout stages last season.
He is an excellent fielder, an occasional wicketkeeper and can bowl seam
up as well. In this season of the IPL, he is yet to play a game as
Aaron Finch, who is a new recruit, has been preferred to him. However,
with Finch likely to be ruled out of the rest of the IPL after suffering
a hamstring injury in the last match, Simmons might get a look in.
#5 Subramaniam Badrinath (CSK)
The experienced Subramaniam Badrinath was with the Chennai Super
Kings (CSK) for the first 6 seasons of the IPL. A capable batsman in his
own right, Badrinath was often entrusted with the responsibility of
rescuing the team when they were in trouble. Despite performing
admirably for them, he went unsold in last year’s auctions.
This
time around, he is playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and
his experience is likely to come in handy for the team if given an
opportunity.
#6 Manvinder Bisla (KKR)
Manvinder Bisla, an aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman by nature, played
for KXIP and KKR before being picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore
(RCB) this season. Although Bisla’s IPL career began playing for KXIP,
it was with the Knight Riders that he really came to the fore. His
stunning innings of 89 off just 48 balls to clinch the Man-of-the-Match
award in the IPL 2012 final which KKR went on to win is perhaps among
the best innings in IPL history.
Bisla would be itching to get
into RCB’s playing XI as his aggressive batting style might just help
them down the order in case the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB
de Villiers fail.
#7 Rajat Bhatia (RR)
Rajat Bhatia has been one of the most underrated cricketers in IPL’s
history. Having played for Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Kolkata Knight
Riders (KKR) previously, Bhatia moved to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) last
season and had a decent season as he took 12 wickets from 12 matches at
an economy under 8.
Although RR are doing quite well currently
without Bhatia, his experience and ability to read the game is likely to
come in handy for the Royals at some stage in the season.
#8 Dale Steyn (SRH)
Dale Steyn is arguably the best fast bowler of this generation,
illustrated by the fact that he has picked up a colossal 396 wickets
from 78 Test matches. As far as the IPL is concerned, however, he has
not always been at his best. After playing for Royal Challengers
Bangalore (RCB) for the first 3 seasons, he was signed by the
now-defunct Deccan Chargers. He currently plays for the Sunrisers
Hyderabad (SRH) as a result of the Chargers being terminated.
After
having been a regular for SRH in the past two seasons, he has
unfortunately not played a game yet this season owing to the presence of
Trent Boult who had a great World Cup recently.
#9 Iqbal Abdulla (RCB)
An all-rounder by trade, Iqbal Abdulla won the Emerging Player of the
Year award for his performance in IPL 2011 when he bagged 16 wickets.
The
spinner played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) until the 2013 season
and then moved to Rajasthan Royals in 2014. This season, he is a part of
RCB’s squad but is yet to feature with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal
assuming the mantle of being the side’s premier spinner.
#10 Ashok Dinda (RCB)
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Ashok Dinda can perhaps be
faulted for his tendency to leak too many runs too often with the ball,
but what one cannot fault him for is the effort that he puts in each
time he takes the field. Blessed with the ability to swing the ball away
from the right-hander at a brisk pace, he needs to strive for more
control in his bowling in order to attain success at the top level.
If he can do so in the imminent future, he just might still play a key role for the RCB this season.
#11 Rahul Sharma (CSK)
The IPL has had its fair share of cynics over the years due to the
numerous controversies that have engulfed it since its inception, but it
has also done a huge favour to a number of Indian cricketers.
Leg-spinner
Rahul Sharma is certainly one cricketer who can vouch to have
benefitted from the IPL. After all, he made it to the Indian team
entirely on the back of his IPL performances. A bowler in the mould of
Anil Kumble, Rahul began his IPL career with the Deccan Chargers before
signing for the Pune Warriors ahead of IPL 2011, where he performed very
well by taking 16 wickets in 14 games. He has fallen by the wayside
since then, though, with him having been in the headlines in recent
times more for his off-field indiscretions than on-field performance.
Under
the guidance of captain MS Dhoni at CSK this season, however, he can
hopefully make significant strides in his game and perhaps push for an
India recall in the near future.
t: 
At hospitals rattled by the aftershocks, staff moved sick and injured patients outside on Sunday afternoon.
