IPL 2019: 5 unsold players who could have helped KKR qualify for playoffs

The 12th season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is about to end. A lot has happened this season, in terms of nail-biting finishes, umpiring blunders and of course, mankading, besides other dramatic things, making sure the fans were sad, shocked, happy or whatever, but never bored. A comparatively ‘weak’ team like Delhi Capitals, is today in the playoffs, while a ‘stronger’ team, Kolkata Knight Riders, despite starting off pretty well, is back home enjoying the tournament on TV. The Knight Riders, at one stage, had won 4 out the 5 games they played, but after that, things started going downhill really fast, as they on managed 2 wins in their next 9 games. The weak top and middle-order can be blamed for their downfall, not to forget, KKR’s disastrous death-bowling. Karthik and his boys also showed excessive dependence on Andre Russell, who single-handedly gave them multiple victories this season alone. By the way, KKR’s train derailed, it was clear that their squad was not that balanced and they could have made a few wise buys in the auction and avoided this ‘crash-landing’. Here we bring you 5 unsold players who could have helped KKR qualify for the playoffs: 1. Hashim Amla: Hashim Amla. (Photo Source: Twitter) Even after having two really good seasons in the IPL, this South African batsman found no buyers in the auction of subsequent seasons. Hashim Amla has played a total of 16 matches in IPL 2016 and IPL 2017 combined, scoring almost 580 runs in just over 400 deliveries at a brilliant strike-rate exceeding 140. In addition to these impressive numbers, Amla also averages over 44 in the IPL. Had KKR picked him in the auction for this season, he pretty likely could have put an end to their middle-order crisis by his calm temperament. The experienced South African has so often in the past helped his team get out of tricky situations, and after looking at the ugly fashion the Knights were knocked out, it is not really that hard to agree that Amla could have possibly prevented it from happening had he been a part of the SRK co-owned team. 2. Naman Ojha: Naman Ojha. (Photo Source: Twitter) Naman Ojha played an instrumental part in the IPL triumph of SunRisers Hyderabad in the year 2016. He has been good in the domestic circuit as well in the last few years but apparently hasn’t done enough to earn himself a place in any of the IPL teams for the 12th season of the tournament. Ojha was up for bids with a base price of 75 Lakh INR but unfortunately for him, he was ignored. The 35-year-old has a good bit of IPL experience at his back, with over 100 matches under his belt. Had Dinesh Karthik got Naman in his scheme of things, the situation could have been different for the men in purple-and-gold. The right-hander is not only a capable hitter but can also be useful with his calm and collected batting, just what KKR lacked this whole season and eventually ended up getting kicked out before the playoffs. 3. Daniel Christian: Daniel Christian. (Photo by Darrian Traynor – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images) The Aussie all-rounder, who has also represented his country at the highest level in the past, is another player who could have been a good buy for KKR in the auction. The right-hander can be an absolute beast with the bat in hand on his day, as he has already shown in the past how light the cricket ball can be when it strikes his bat. Christian is also a useful medium-pacer who can keep things tight in addition to taking wickets occasionally. The 36-year-old could have helped the Knights secure a spot in the playoffs with his medium-pacers and big hits towards the end of the innings. He is also a brilliant fielder, thereby making him a ‘3D’ player in the real sense. The lack of consistency in KKR’s middle-order and their terrible death-bowling could have been countered had the experienced Aussie played under DK this IPL season. 4. Tushar Deshpande: Tushar Deshpande. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Mumbai-born youngster is a talented pacer, who despite lacking experience in the professional circuit, is capable enough to surprise the cricketing world with the ball in hand. Tushar has played 15 T20 matches in domestic cricket, taking 22 wickets, his best performance being 4 for 19. In addition to this, Deshpande has bowled at an economy-rate of 8.26 and an impressive strike-rate of a shade below 14. KKR could have employed him for the season, as the world hasn’t yet seen much of the 23-year-old, who will turn 24 in a few days. The lack of knowledge of the opposition batsmen regarding the way Tushar bowled, could have given him and KKR that advantage of surprising them by unleashing some uncommon weapons from his armor, that quite likely would have helped in improving the Knights’ death-bowling. 5. James Pattinson: James Pattinson of the Melbourne Renegades. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) The 29-year-old Aussie pacer is another player who could have bettered KKR’s chances of making it to the playoffs with his fiery pace, impressive swing, and pin-point accuracy. The handsome Victorian would have been a good buy, more so, because of his ridiculously immaculate spells of late in the Australian domestic circuit. Pattinson could well get a come-back call from the Aussie selectors for his recent exploits with the ball. KKR, throughout this season, clearly looked a bowler, or two, short who could give DK & co. some important breakthroughs, whenever the need arose. They tried Prasidh Krishna, Harry Gurney, and a few others to fulfill their needs, but none of them seemed to fit the frame as they wanted. James Pattinson could have been a perfect pick for the spot as he has done the job for Victoria in the past and is more than capable to repeat the same. Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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IPL 2019: 5 unsold players who could have helped KKR qualify for playoffs

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2. Naman Ojha:

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