8 Players who made their way into IPL 10 as replacements

Injuries have always been part and parcel of the game, but coming at a time where it could have a great impact on a team’s performance was the last thing an IPL franchise wanted. With a few big names getting sidelined due to several injuries, IPL 2017, proves to be a massive opportunity for young, fresh and veteran talents to make a mark at this level and prove their stature.

All eight franchises worked with full fortitude while picking right players for the right slot at the time of IPL auction, but they didn’t know that something of this sort will happen as they are missing some fantastic players who had the ability to win the games single handedly.

Half way staged, the tournament is still open for all eight teams to make it to the top four. For that, the IPL franchises have made some replacements for the injured players. Let’s have a look:

1. Marlon Samuels:

Delhi Daredevils on Thursday (April 28) roped in veteran West Indies batman Marlon Samuels as a replacement of injured Quinton de Kock for the remainder of Indian Premier League 2017. The South African wicketkeeper-batsman suffered an injury to his right index finger that he picked up during the New Zealand tour last month.

With his vast experience in the shortest format of the game, Samuels’ availability should be a massive boost to Delhi’s fortunes. Apart from scoring vital runs in the closing stages of the innings, he can also slip in some quiet overs with the ball. Samuels last played IPL four years ago, in 2013, for Pune Warriors.

In his short spell in the IPL, he has scored 132 runs and took 9 wickets. The numbers don’t do justice to his capabilities and will look to boost these numbers in the coming matches for Delhi Daredevils.

Imran Tahir:

Rising Pune Supergiant signed Imran Tahir as a replacement of Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for the tenth edition of IPL. The South African leg-spinner went unsold in the IPL players auction which happened earlier this year. Mitchell Marsh picked up a shoulder injury during Test series against India.

Tahir has been the X-factor for this season for Rising Pune Supergiant. He has featured in all eight games so far and picked 10 wickets at an economy of 8.5. He has been the best bowler in the tournament, so far, for the team getting them breakthroughs at crucial stage of the innings.

Irfan Pathan:

Irfan Pathan, the Indian all-rounder was picked by Rising Pune Supergiant last year. However, he was released by the franchise this year and found no buyers in IPL players auction, 2017. Due to an injury suffered by West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo, Gujarat Lions signed Irfan as a replacement.

Bravo sustained a hamstring injury in Big Bash League in December and has been going through rehabilitation since then. He has been a part of Gujarat Lions since the start of this year’s IPL and was expected to recover.

Halfway through the tournament, Irfan has a chance to prove his mettle and answer his critics. Irfan is coming from a great domestic season and would look to carry the form in IPL. He has an experience of over 100 IPL matches and has scored 1137 runs at an average of 21.87.

With the ball in hand, the 32-year-old has picked 80 wickets at an economy of under 8. His ability to bat and the ball will provide stability to the side and can prove to be an X- Factor for Gujarat Lions.

Harpreet Singh:

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have roped in young talent from Madhya Pradesh as a replacement of injured Sarfaraz Khan for the remainder of this season. Sarfaraz, 19, suffered a leg injury during an inter-squad match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Harpreet went unsold in February’s IPL auction despite enjoying a dream run at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2016-17, where he topped the run charts scoring 211 runs in four games at an average of 52.75 for North Zone. A former India Under-19 player, Harpreet had played one match for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2010 and three matches for Pune Warriors in 2013.

He will try and make this opportunity count. With RCB struggling to find the best batting combination, Harpreet can be a contender to replace out of form Mandeep Singh in the squad.

Ankit Soni:

Gujarat Lions have signed 23-year-old leg-spinner Ankit Soni, who made his way into the team as a replacement of Shivil Kaushik for the remainder of Indian Premier League.

Shivil Kaushik came into the limelight in last year’s IPL when the chinaman bowler was able to trouble some big guns with his unfamiliar action. In this year’s IPL, he featured in three games before being ruled out.

There are no statistical data available about Soni’s cricketing credentials. He has hardly played any professional cricket. Ankit made his debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore and picked up an important wicket of Pawan Negi which even helped GL take a tight grip in the match. It will be interesting to see how Suresh Raina and co. use this unknown commodity.

Washington Sundar:

Rising Pune Supergiant roped their second replacement of this season in form of Washington Sundar who was picked to fill in for Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin. Ashwin is suffering from sports hernia and he underwent scans in Mumbai after the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy concluded in Dharamsala. He has been badly missed by the franchise, which is playing their last season in the IPL.

Washington Sundar made his debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad and made an impression straight away. He came into the limelight after a successful stint in the TNPL where he claimed 11 wickets. On his debut, He had a decent outing with the ball. He has been featuring in the squad since then.

Vishnu Vinod:

Royal Challengers Bangalore who are already facing much concern due to the injuries and their form this season, have signed Kerela’s aggressive batsman Vishnu Vinod as a replacement of Indian star KL Rahul. Rahul suffered a shoulder injury during the Test series against Australia and has been asked to stay off the field for at least 3 months.

If there is one area where RCB have struggled so far it is at the top of the order, where their lack of consistency has hurt them. And the 22-year-old will bring plenty of that to the table, along with a winning mentality.

Vinod made his debut in the IPL against Delhi Daredevils and has played two matches since then. With the likes of Kedar Jadhav, Mandeep Singh in the squad, he hasn’t had much opportunity to show his skills. He will be looking to find a place in the eleven and show his capabilities.

Ben Hilfenhaus:

At the start of this season, Delhi Daredevils suffered a huge blow in form of JP Duminy who was a seasoned campaigner for them last season and pulled out citing personal reasons. As a replacement, DD found the experienced Ben Hilfenhaus, who is coming from a great Big Bash League.

The Australian fast bowler has a huge amount of experience behind his back and is familiar with the conditions here in India. Ben has a good mixture of Yorkers and slower ones and has the ability to provide breakthroughs at crucial stages. He was a consistent performer for Chennai Super Kings.

In his 17 IPL matches, Hilfenhaus has picked up 22 wickets at an economy of under 8. With Angelo Mathews not able to keep the right foot, Ben has a chance to feature above him in the coming matches.