IPL 2019: Unlucky XI of the season so far

It is a fact that participating in a Global Twenty 20 tournament like The Indian Premier League is like a dream come true for a young budding Cricketer. A tournament like IPL not only gives money and fame to the cricketers but a good performance in the league also opens the doors for them to the national team selection. It also provides an opportunity for the players who are currently out of the national team to make a comeback into the team. IPL consists of a lot of talented players from across the world. So, breaking into the playing 11 of any IPL franchise is really a task. There have been a few instances where some of the players have missed out in the playing 11 due to stiff competition in the side or in order to provide a certain kind of a balance to the team. Here are the unlucky XI of the IPL 2019. 1. Murali Vijay (Photo Source: Twitter) The opening batsman from Chennai has been an integral part of the Indian test team as an opener and has done a decent job. He has represented Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals in IPL. Murali Vijay has scored a couple of centuries in IPL with the highest score of 127 in just 56 balls in the 2010 edition of IPL. He has an experience of more than 100 matches in IPL and averages 26.4. Nicknamed “Monk” by his teammates, he has played a solitary match in IPL 2019 against Mumbai Indians and was the highest scorer for CSK in a losing cause when he scored 38 runs. 2. Martin Guptill Martin Guptill. (Photo: IANS) Martin Guptill has been one of the mainstays of New Zealand’s batting in white ball cricket for quite a number of years now. He has the highest individual score of 237 runs against the West Indies in the 50 over format which he scored in the 2015 edition of the World Cup. He has also scored a couple of centuries in the International Twenty20 matches he has played for his country. Although he has only played 10 IPL matches in his career so far where he has scored a fifty at a strike rate of 132.17. It is very difficult to dislodge him as he is equally effective against the pacers and the spinners when he is in full flow. The Auckland born batsman should consider himself unlucky still warming the bench for his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad which consists of a strong top order in the form of Kane Williamson, David Warner, and Johnny Bairstow. He is expected to play a role for his franchise with the departure of Warner and Bairstow for their national duties. 3. Manjot Kalra Manjot Kalra. (Photo Source: Clint Hughes/Getty Images) Manjot Kalra came into the limelight when he scored a solid 101 not out against Australia in the finals of the under 19 World Cup in 2018 playing a major role in India lifting the world title. He had hit 8 fours and 3 sixes in his innings which helped India to chase a target of 217 runs very easily. The Delhi born right-handed batsman is an opener who has an attacking game. He has been selected for the franchise Delhi Capitals this season and is very unlikely that he will get any game unless there is an injury to anyone. 4. Manan Vohra Manan Vohra. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Right-handed opening batsman from Punjab was drafted into the Indian domestic circuit at a very young age of 17. After his heroic performance in the U-19 Cricket World cup, he was bought by Kings 11 Punjab for the 2013 season of IPL. There Manan Vohra impressed everyone with his stroke play. Although erratic at some times, but he showed that he had the skillsets to perform at the highest level. He has played for Kings 11 Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore and currently he is a part of Rajasthan Royals squad in the IPL. He has played 49 IPL matches so far and has a good strike rate of 131.77 with the highest score of 95 against a strong Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack. Now, with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi available for the opening slot, it is very unlikely that Manan would get a chance in the playing 11. 5. Abhishek Sharma Delhi Daredevils’ Abhishek Sharma. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Like Manjot Kalra, he was also a member of the Indian under 19 World cup team that lifted the trophy in 2018. The all-rounder hails from Punjab and bats left-handed and is a left arm orthodox spinner as well. He played a crucial role in India winning the trophy in 2018. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi capitals) in the 2018 season of IPL and in his debut match he scored a brilliant 46 of just 19 balls against RCB. The teenager was quite severe on Tim Southee scoring (4,6,6) in one of his over. Currently, he is a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad but it is unlikely that he would get a chance in the playing 11. 6. Shreevats Goswami Shreevats Goswami. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Shreevats was a part of the under 19 World Cup team which won the title in Malaysia under the leadership of Virat Kohli in 2008. He opened the innings and did decently apart from keeping wickets. The southpaw was one of the players from that under-19 team to get an IPL contract. Shreevats is a wicketkeeper-batsman who can be used even at the top of the order. He has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. In all, he has played a total of 29 IPL matches with a solitary half-century. Now Wriddhiman Saha being present in the team it is unlikely that Goswami would get a look in into the playing 11 for SRH. 7. Mohammad Nabi Mohammad Nabi. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Mohammad Nabi is one of the most talented players from the land of Afghanistan. He may not be as eye-catching as Rashid Khan, or as flamboyant as Mohammad Shahzad, but he quietly goes along with his job serving as a guiding light for the youngsters in Afghanistan. The off-spinning all-rounder has also captained his National team as well and has featured in various twenty 20 leagues across the world. He has played 67 Twenty 20 matches for his national team and has scored 1131 runs and has taken 69 wickets too. In the IPL he plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad and in this season he has taken 7 wickets in just 3 matches with a best of 4/11 against RCB. With SRH opting the strategy of horses for courses, Nabi should consider himself unlucky not to feature in more than 3 matches this season so far. 8. Andrew Tye Andrew Tye. (Photo: IANS) Andrew Tye is a limited overs specialist right-handed quick bowler. He has an ability to bowl yorkers at will and he possesses a very good knuckleball too. It is no surprise that the Perth born bowler was one of the most sought after players in the T20 leagues across the world. His ability to use the long handle in the bottom half of the innings is an added advantage. He has been a part of Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions and Kings XI Punjab in his IPL career so far. Playing his first IPL Match in 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiants he took 5/17 which included a hat – trick. In the next season playing for Punjab, he was the purple cap holder taking 24 wickets. In the 2019 season, due to stiff competition, he has not been given enough opportunities in the playing 11 for Punjab. 9. Ish Sodhi Ish Sodhi. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images) The Ludhiana born leg spinner who plays for New Zealand has a lot of flairs and has a very good bowling action. The tall leggie is a very economical bowler and he uses his variations in flight in order to tie – up to the batsman. He is remembered for his spell against India at Nagpur in 2016 T20 World Cup where he took 3/18 and played a major role along with Mitchell Santner in restricting India to 79 and winning the match by 47 runs. Playing 33 Twenty 20 Internationals for New Zealand he has taken 43 wickets with an impressive Economy rate of less than 8. In IPL, he plays for Rajasthan Royals and has taken 6 wickets in 7 matches with a miserly economy rate of 6.52. In this season he has not been given much of an opportunity and there is a possibility that he might get some matches soon with the departure of foreign players. 10. Kulwant Khejroliya Kulwant Khejroliya. (Photo Source: Mumbai Indians) The left arm pacer hails from Rajasthan and plays Ranji trophy for Delhi. He has been a part of Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. With Ashish Nehra being the bowling coach of RCB in 2019, it wasn’t a surprise that he went for a left-handed quick bowler in the squad in order to strengthen up the pace bowling department. In October 2018, he took a hat-trick in the quarterfinals of the Vijay Hazare trophy against Haryana finishing with figures of 6/31 runs. He has played 3 IPL matches so far claiming 2 wickets. With RCB already out from the playoffs, he is likely to get a chance in the playing 11 for RCB. 11. Basil Thampi Basil Thampi. (Photo Source: Twitter) Born in Kerala, Basil is a quick bowler who can consistently bowl at a speed of 140 km/hr and above and is known for bowling Yorkers consistently. He claims to learn the art of bowling yorkers through tennis ball cricket. In 2017 he was selected by Gujarat Lions and in his debut season, he got the “Emerging player award” in IPL. In the same year, he was selected in the Indian national team for the twenty 20 series against Sri Lanka but he did not play. In the 2018 season in IPL, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad but he had a forgettable season where he was quite expensive in most of the matches. He is playing for SRH in the currents season as well but is yet to get a chance in the playing 11. In the 16 matches he has played in IPL, he has managed to take 16 wickets with an economy rate of 9.81 which is on a higher side but he has impressed everyone with this speed. He can be used as a surprise element by SRH in the matches to come. 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: Unlucky XI of the season so far

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