5 Benched Players who deserved more chances in IPL 2021 UAE Leg

So, the league stages of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) draws to a close on 8th October 2021. We have had stunning batting performances, superb bowling spells, and breath-taking fielding efforts. Glenn Maxwell has been outstanding for the RCB side and slammed 3 consecutive fifties for Virat Kohli and his men in IPL Phase 2, Ravindra Jadeja has been superb with the willow, and has scored his runs at an average of 75.67 in IPL 2021, and Venkatesh Iyer has taken the IPL second leg by storm. But then, there were some players who did not get chances to showcase their talent in the UAE leg of the IPL. In this article, let us take a look at 5 cricketers who deserved more chances in the second half of the tournament. 5. Chris Lynn Chris Lynn. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The Mumbai Indians (MI) side bought Chris Lynn for his base price of INR 2 Crores in the 2021 IPL auctions. But then, the right-handed batsman was not provided even a single chance in the UAE leg of the tournament by the five-time IPL champions. In fact, Lynn played just one match in the entire 14th IPL season for Mumbai. And, he did well with the bat, scoring a blazing 49 off 35 deliveries at the top of the order against the Royal Challengers Bangalore side. Lynn also boasts of a good record in IPL cricket. The right-hander has scored 1329 runs in his IPL career and has scored his runs at an average of 34.08, and an excellent strike rate of 140.63. But sadly, the explosive batsman was benched for the whole of the UAE leg by the Mumbai side. 4. Umran Malik Umran Malik. (photo Source: Twitter/Indian Premier League) This 21-year-old pacer from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowled just 8 overs in the UAE leg of the IPL but has got the entire cricketing fraternity talking about him. Umran Malik sent down deliveries at over 150 kmph on a regular basis, and the batsmen were finding it difficult to cope with the missiles from this young lad. Apart from his pace, Malik also exhibited control over his line and length as well. Jason Holder and Kane Williamson also heaped praise on the youngster, with Holder even stating that Malik has been giving a tough time to the SRH players in the nets as well. Probably, Kane Williamson could have given more opportunities to a promising youngster. But then, Malik is only 21 years old and has a long career ahead of him. And, going by the initial impression that he has created, Malik is here to stay. 3. Shakib Al Hasan Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Shakib Al Hasan has scalped a colossal 106 wickets in T20I cricket and is the second-highest wicket-taker in T20I history. The left-hander has also scored 1763 runs with the willow in T20Is. Apart from that, the Bangladesh legend brings with him an experience of 68 IPL matches as well. Shakib has scalped 63 wickets in IPL cricket at a decent average of 27.84. And more importantly, he could have made use of the slow tracks in the UAE. But then, Shakib found a place in the KKR playing XI in just 2 matches in the UAE leg. Aakash Chopra had even stated that the Bangladesh cricketer should have replaced Eoin Morgan in the KKR playing XI and taken over the leadership duties as well. 2. Tabraiz Shamsi South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images) Tabraiz Shamsi is another cricketer who deserved more opportunities to showcase his worth on pitches in the UAE. The left-arm chinaman bowler is the third-highest wicket-taker for South Africa in T20I cricket and has scalped 49 wickets in 42 matches at a good average of 21.63. Shamsi played just 1 match for the RR side in the UAE leg of the IPL and leaked 34 runs in the 4 overs that he bowled. Also, Shamsi performed exceedingly well in the limited-overs series that preceded the IPL second leg between South Africa and Sri Lanka. While he scalped 4 wickets in the three-match T20I series at a superb average of 16.75, Shamsi took career-best figures of 5/49 in the ODI series as well. Also, given his experience and the kind of surfaces on offer in the UAE, the South African definitely deserved more chances to showcase his potential. 1. Mohammed Azharuddeen Mohammed Azharuddeen. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mohammed Azharuddeen made waves in the cricketing world when he smashed a sensational 37-ball ton against the Mumbai side during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It is the joint 3rd fastest century ever, by an Indian player in T20 cricket. Azharuddeen scored 214 runs in 5 innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and scored his runs at a fearsome strike rate of 194.54. And, riding on this, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side picked the 27-year-old right-hander during the 2021 IPL auctions for his base price of INR 20 Lakh. But then, Azharuddeen was not provided even a single opportunity to wield the willow during the entire 14th IPL edition. Virat Kohli might have provided at least one chance for the right-handed batsman in the UAE leg of the tournament, but he remained in the sidelines.

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5 Benched Players who deserved more chances in IPL 2021 UAE Leg

There were some players who did not get a chance to showcase their talent in the UAE leg of the IPL.

3. Shakib Al Hasan

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