IPL 2024: Best Benched XI of the week

The 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) has completed its first week with the contest between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. In the opening week of the competition, star players such as Rachin Ravindra, Heinrich Klaasen, Andre Russell, and Virat Kohli looked effective for their teams.

On one side, some illustrious names had a great week while a few players are yet to play their first games. Eminent names such as Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, and Lockie Ferguson were seen warming benches. Besides these three names, there were also some players who were seen in the dugout during the entire week. Discussing more, let’s talk about the best benched XI of the first week.  

Here is the best-benched XI of the week

1. Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw struggled to be among the runs in the previous season but Delhi Capitals’ trust in the young opener remained intact as they retained him before the 2024 auction. However, the 24-year-old wasn’t in DC’s playing XI against Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the opening week of the competition.

2. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK)

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have benched their Afghanistan stalwart Rahmanullah Gurbaz as they have got the services of Phil Salt, who replaced Jason Roy in the squad. Like Gurbaz, Salt is also a wicketkeeper batter, who is known for batting fiercely as an opener. 

3. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey is another eminent who hasn’t made it to KKR’s playing XI yet. The 34-year-old is immensely experienced but in the last three seasons, he looked completely out of colour. The right-handed batter is one of the fewest players active in the league since 2008. He has scored 3808 runs in 170 matches in his 16-year IPL career. 

4. Nehal Wadhera

Nehal Wadhera looked impressive with his bat for Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2023. Noting his excellence, MI retained him for the 2024 season. However, the 23-year-old batter hasn’t got a chance in his team’s clashes against Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). 

5. Glenn Phillips

SRH spent a heavy amount in the 2024 IPL auction and bought some star-studded overseas players. However, the Orange Army can induct only four overseas players in their playing XI so New Zealand stalwart Glenn Phillips is one of the foreign names who hasn’t featured in SRH’s playing XI, thus far.

6. Mohammad Nabi (C)

Mohammad Nabi became a part of MI in the 2024 auction held in Dubai. Nabi has vast experience and he can deliver solid numbers to Mumbai with both bat and ball. As a spinner, he can provide a variety to MI’s spin attack, along with Piyush Chawla. The Afghan veteran is also known for his power-hitting potential which makes him a superb finisher.

7. Lalit Yadav

Along with Prithvi Shaw, all-rounder Lalit Yadav also failed to make it to DC’s playing XI in two matches in the opening week. The 27-year-old plays for Delhi in domestic cricket which makes him familiar with the conditions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. In upcoming matches, Lalit will expect the DC team management to show trust in him. 

8. Wanindu Hasaranga

Wanindu Hasaranga was seen warming benches in the first week. The Sri Lanka spin wizard was sold for his base amount of INR 1.5 crore at the auction in December 2023. In the first week, SRH played their two games without the leggie but in further games, captain Pat Cummins might utilise him on spin-friendly tracks.  

9. Akash Madhwal

Akash Madhwal looked impressive in MI colours in 2023. Playing his debut season, he had taken 14 wickets in eight contests at an economy of 8.59. In MI’s first two games, Madhwal didn’t get a spot in the playing XI but two consecutive defeats in the first week can force captain Hardik Pandya to make some changes and the speedster can be seen reinforcing Mumbai’s pace attack in upcoming contests. 

10. Vaibhav Arora

Vaibhav Arora played for KKR in 2023 but couldn’t deliver solid numbers with the ball. He took only five wickets in five matches at an economy of 9.13. Despite noting his ineffective performance, the Knight Riders didn’t part ways with him. In the opening game against Hyderabad, KKR went onto the field without him. 

11. Navdeep Saini

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have started their campaign confidently with their victories against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and DC. In both contests, Navdeep Saini was absent from Rajasthan’s playing XI. The paceman was a part of RR in the last two seasons but couldn’t be impressive with the ball. 

Also Check: Ranking the best powerplay scores from first 10 matches in IPL 2024