IPL 2022: Best Benched XI from the fifth week of the season

The picture is getting clearer as the fifth week of IPL 2022 comes to an end. Few teams are inching closer to acquiring the play-off berths but for some, the ship has already sailed. Many teams are still battling it out to stay in the fray as the league is heading towards the deciding phase. This week was no different for the table-toppers- Gujarat Titans, as they won both their games while for KKR, it was yet another poor week with their losing streak only extending.

Some stellar batting performances were on the display from the likes of KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, and Riyan Parag. What made this week truly fascinating was the low-scoring games dominated by bowlers such as Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Rashid Khan, etc. This IPL has brought to light a bunch of talented Indian youngsters and they have certainly made their mark.

Still, some players didn’t get the opportunity they rightly deserved in the fifth week of the tournament. Here are the best XI players who warmed the bench this week but could have proved their place in the playing 11.

(Note: Matches from April 23 to April 29 are considered for Week 5)

1. Finn Allen

The 23-year-old Kiwi cricketer is an explosive top-order batsman. Finn Allen made his T20 debut in 2021 against Bangladesh and played an impressive knock of 71 runs in 29 balls in his 3rd game. In the 2020-21 T20 domestic season, he was the highest run-getter with 512 runs and a fantastic strike rate of 194. In his short international T20 career he has scored a total of 156 runs in 6 matches with a stunning strike rate of 190.24. He has got all the shots in the book and can clear the fence effortlessly. He is seen as the future of New Zealand Cricket.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Allen for Rs.80 lakh in the 2022 IPL auction. Till now he has been kept out from the playing 11. RCB has struggled to get a quick opening partnership and that has cost them in their recent games. Faf du Plessis and in the middle order, Dinesh Kartik and Shahbaz Ahmed have led the batting so far but they need someone up front to give them those quick starts which will mitigate some pressure for the middle order. Finn Allen can provide that acceleration and help RCB get those extra 15-20 extra runs that are often the deciding factor of the game.

RCB are placed at the 5th position in the points table and this can hurt them ahead of the qualifying stage for the playoffs. Fin Allen can certainly add some value to their batting as his power-hitting approach will positively impact the results of their upcoming games. If RCB has to stay in the hunt, they need to win games with a positive net run rate and utilize the services of Finn Allen in the top order in doing so.