IPL: 5 players who were part of squads but never got a chance in XI

IPL has always featured the best of the players around the globe. There’s no doubt that IPL brings a lot of money to the table. It’s a chance to earn millions and millions which is a dream for most cricketers. Over the years, there have been a number of occasions where we have seen some shocking bids.

While some solid players go unsold, some youngsters make a lot of money. It’s a testament to the fact that IPL is more driven by youngsters and their capabilities. Most of the time, the squads are really big and can feature close to 25 members. Adding to it, only four overseas players can feature in a game. There have been a lot of occasions where some players were part of IPL squads but never got a chance in XI.

Players who were part of IPL squads but couldn’t get a chance in the XI

1. Josh Hazelwood (MI)

Josh Hazelwood is a fantastic bowler for the Aussie side. Although Test is where his maximum skill set lies, he has been good enough in the limited over format as well. He has 88 wickets in ODIs at an average of 26 which is pretty impressive!

He was picked by Mumbai Indians back in 2014. Regarded as one of the finest pacers in the world, he was destined to make it into the team at some point. He had the stature which helped him to generate bounce and he got a decent amount of variations as well.

With Malinga already on the side, Mumbai could not afford to have another foreign seamer in the attack. They rather backed guys like Jasprit Bumrah & even when Malinga was missing, they preferred Marchant de Lange over the Aussie pacer. Sadly, Josh Hazelwood couldn’t even debut for Mumbai Indians.

2. Brendan Taylor (SRH)

Brendan Taylor is one of the best batsmen to come out of Zimbabwe. He has always shown the caliber in him in all the formats. His keeping drills adds to the value he brings to the table.

Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t have a great season in 2014. They finished No. 6 on the points table. It was a mediocre performance under the captaincy of Darren Sammy who himself struggled for runs and wickets.

Aaron Finch & David Warner were already two of the most important batsmen which couldn’t allow a third overseas batsman. Naman Ojha played as the wicketkeeper throughout the season. He had a solid season and didn’t let any room for Taylor to come into the side.

3. Nicholas Pooran (MI)

Nicholas Pooran has been a great find for the West Indies. He has turned up for the Caribbean team consistently. He was just 21 when he got picked by Mumbai Indians for IPL back in 2017.

Mumbai Indians have had a rich history of some solid overseas players. Most of these hardly get a chance. A match-winner like Chris Lynn is warming the bench for Mumbai Indians and has played only one game through the last two seasons.

They had a great season in 2017 and eventually went on to win it. There weren’t many talks around Pooran’s exclusion from the side either. It’s with a time that Pooran became bigger & is currently a very good player in limited-overs cricket.

4. Steve Smith (RCB)

Can you imagine both Steve Smith & Virat Kohli share one dressing room? It did happen back in 2010. Virat Kohli was still a rookie back then while Steve Smith was a specialist bowler who could bat.

IPL took place just before the World T20 that year. It was this World T20 where Steve Smith surprised everyone and took 11 wickets in the entire tournament. He was the joint second-highest wicket-taker that year.

Sadly, he was largely overlooked by Royal Challengers Bangalore. There was no way he was going to be picked over Steyn or Kallis back in the day. It still feels very surprising that the two legends of modern-day cricket who have had a bittersweet relationship were part of the same team.

5. Justin Langer (RR)

Justin Langer is currently the coach of the Australian side. He was a typical Test specialist who hardly played ODIs. He scored close to 8000 runs having an experience of over 100 Tests.

The Western Australia bloke was picked by Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition of the IPL. It was considered the weakest side of the lot. They however had a very good season and were topping the points table almost all the time.

He was in competition with Kamran Akmal & Shane Watson to be on the side. The two lads were destructive and well suited for the shortest format of the game. Justin Langer never saw the light of the day in IPL and retired without debuting in the most popular cricket league in the world.