5 players who should have played more games in IPL 2017

The Indian Premier League is over for this year with the conclusion of the finals last night. The tenth edition of the IPL was bigger and better with viewership record soaring to an all-time high. In the end, the table toppers Mumbai Indians were the eventual champions as they defeated RPS by one run in a closely contested game held in Hyderabad.

A lot of brilliant performances from various cricketers were registered during the tournament. Plenty of players made their debuts this year with a few shining in their first season itself. RPS spent a lot of money on Ben Stokes and the English all-rounder made sure that he was worth every penny of the money spent on him. If RPS could have had him in the finals, it would have been a different story altogether. But cricket is never about ifs and buts. Mumbai played better cricket on the day and deserved to win their third title.

The balance between bat and ball was almost even as bowlers had their say too this year. RPS was one team who successfully defended scores of 150-160 this year. The format of the tournament is such that teams tend to play the best possible combination for a given condition. It doesn’t matter if the player who misses out is of high stature. Mumbai Indians left out Harbhajan Singh for the last three games to accommodate Karn Sharma in the XI. There were a few players who weren’t good enough to fit in the team’s combination.

1. Mitchell Johnson

Johnson played just three games during the league stages as Mumbai Indians had more belief in Mitchell McClenaghan. The Kiwi fast bowler played 13 out of 14 league games to keep Johnson warming the benches. But an injury kept McClenaghan out of the 1st Qualifier, as well as the final and it was time for Johnson to replace the big Kiwi fast bowler.

Johnson showed no signs of rustiness as he played the knockout game against KKR at Bengaluru. He bowled with the new balls and hit the right areas to contain the KKR batters. He returned with great figures of 2/28 which was good for his confidence ahead of the finals. Johnson, who is retired from international cricket for a while now, bowled Mumbai Indians to the title in the finals when he defended 11 runs successfully in the last over.

The left-arm quick picked two wickets in the last over and gave away 9 runs. His figures of 3/26 were outstanding on the big night and give an impression that he was underplayed by Mumbai in the league stages.