5 players who should have played more games in IPL 2017

The Indian Premier League is over for this year with the conclusion of the finals last night. The tenth edition of the IPL was bigger and better with viewership record soaring to an all-time high. In the end, the table toppers Mumbai Indians were the eventual champions as they defeated RPS by one run in a closely contested game held in Hyderabad. A lot of brilliant performances from various cricketers were registered during the tournament. Plenty of players made their debuts this year with a few shining in their first season itself. RPS spent a lot of money on Ben Stokes and the English all-rounder made sure that he was worth every penny of the money spent on him. If RPS could have had him in the finals, it would have been a different story altogether. But cricket is never about ifs and buts. Mumbai played better cricket on the day and deserved to win their third title. The balance between bat and ball was almost even as bowlers had their say too this year. RPS was one team who successfully defended scores of 150-160 this year. The format of the tournament is such that teams tend to play the best possible combination for a given condition. It doesn’t matter if the player who misses out is of high stature. Mumbai Indians left out Harbhajan Singh for the last three games to accommodate Karn Sharma in the XI. There were a few players who weren’t good enough to fit in the team’s combination. 1. Mitchell Johnson Mitchell Johnson of Mumbai Indians. (Photo: IANS) Johnson played just three games during the league stages as Mumbai Indians had more belief in Mitchell McClenaghan. The Kiwi fast bowler played 13 out of 14 league games to keep Johnson warming the benches. But an injury kept McClenaghan out of the 1st Qualifier, as well as the final and it was time for Johnson to replace the big Kiwi fast bowler. Johnson showed no signs of rustiness as he played the knockout game against KKR at Bengaluru. He bowled with the new balls and hit the right areas to contain the KKR batters. He returned with great figures of 2/28 which was good for his confidence ahead of the finals. Johnson, who is retired from international cricket for a while now, bowled Mumbai Indians to the title in the finals when he defended 11 runs successfully in the last over. The left-arm quick picked two wickets in the last over and gave away 9 runs. His figures of 3/26 were outstanding on the big night and give an impression that he was underplayed by Mumbai in the league stages. 2. Karn Sharma Karn Sharma of Mumbai Indians celebrates fall of a wicket. (Photo: IANS) The Railways leg-spinner has a great IPL record but largely remained benched through the league stages. Mumbai did not play him at all in their first seven games despite the success of the wrist spinners this year. It was only because of an injury to Krunal Pandya that Karn got an opportunity to sneak into the XI. Sharma took a couple of games to find his rhythm and was unstoppable post that. The leg-spinner gave steady performances in the 6 league games that he played but took his game to a different level once the playoffs arrived. In a knockout game against KKR, Karn showed his brilliance with the ball taking the Man of the Match award with a career best 4/16. He rattled through the top order of KKR to leave them reeling at 31/5. The 2-time champions never really recovered from that spell as they were bowled out for just 107. In the finals too, Karn returned with figures of 0/18 in four overs. He keeps it tight in the middle overs and could have featured more in the league stages. 3. Faf du Plessis Faf du Plessis. (Photo Source: Indian Express) Since he was picked to play in the IPL, du Plessis has been a regular feature for of the XI of CSK, the last franchise he played for. Strangely, the South Africa T20 captain was picked for just two games this year before he left for national duty ahead of the Playoffs. He did not fit into the team combination of RPS this season as they had too many quality internationals in their squad. A player of du Plessis’ class should have found a place in any XI. His T20 record is great all around the world and he has played a key role for CSK when he used to turn up for them till 2015. The Protea star incidentally had a decent season last year for RPS where he scored 206 runs in 6 games at 34.33 which included two fifties. He must be disappointed to not contribute to his team’s cause during the league stages. 4. Shakib Al Hasan Kolkata Knight Riders Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo credit DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images) One of the biggest names going around in world cricket, Shakib did not manage to get more than one game this year. An otherwise regular member of the XI, Shakib was confined to the bench during the league stages which must have been very frustrating for a world class all-rounder like him. The Bangladesh star has played a big role in KKR’s twin title wins. He has been terrific with the ball upfront and has contributed massively down the order with the bat. Though he was hit for 31 runs in 3 overs in the solitary appearance he had this year, Shakib has enough quality to bounce back from such situations. 5. Avesh Khan Avesh Khan of Royal Challengers Bangalore. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) RCB had a miserable season this year and why Avesh was benched throughout the season is still a mystery to many. Playing the last league game for RCB, the former U-19 fast bowler bowled with a lot of heart to return with figures of 1/23 off four overs. His pace and attitude impressed many including his skipper Virat Kohli who said that Avesh rushed the batsman, something which even world class bowlers can’t do on a slow Feroz Shah Kotla wicket. Avesh should have been given a go earlier in the season as the entire fast bowling unit of RCB struggled all season.

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5 players who should have played more games in IPL 2017

Here is a list of five players who should have played more league games than what they ended up playing.

5. Avesh Khan

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