IPL 2022: Best benched XI from the sixth week

7. Sam Billings

The Englishman has been a T20 franchise cricket flag-bearer as he has played in almost every well-established T20 league in the world. He has gained a lot of experience while playing in these tournaments and that shows in his game as well. The wicketkeeper batsman has played some match-winning knocks for his former franchise – Chennai Super Kings. Although his numbers don’t speak of his true capabilities as he has always been in and out of the playing XI in most of his IPL stints so far and he comes way down the order as well.

His most impressive knock came for the Chennai Super Kings wherein he scored a match-winning 56 against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 edition. This time around he is with the Kolkata Knight Riders who are struggling a bit in the points table at this stage of the tournament. Their middle order has been a matter of concern as the likes of Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, and Baba Indrajith are not performing to the fullest of their abilities. To solidify their middle order, the English wicketkeeper can be a good choice.

Kolkata Knight Riders need someone who can make sure they remain in the game till the last ball of the match while chasing a big total. Sam Billings can provide them that much-needed steadiness in the lower-middle order. Kolkata Knight Riders will require the services of Billings when the situation arises of a nail-biter at the crucial stage of their journey in the tournament. Sam Billings can surely play that finisher role for the Kolkata Knight Riders as the tournament progresses.