IPL 10: Benched Players XI of the first week

All-rounders:

Gurkeerat Singh

The all-rounder from Punjab has been in and around the Indian circuit for quite some time now. He is a part of the Kings XI Punjab squad and hasn’t found a place in the playing XI so far. The Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis did exceptionally well for them last season and even this year, he has been the first choice and as a result, Gurkeerat has been made to wait for his chance.

Gurkeerat has played 28 matches in his IPL career and has made 342 runs with a half-century to his credit. On occasions, he has proved to be a useful batsman down the order who can score quick runs. To go with the batting, he is also a handy off-spinner and has picked up 5 wickets. Surely, he hasn’t been at his best in IPL but his good domestic performances had earned him a place in the Indian ODI squad that toured Australia last year.

James Faulkner

Known for being a T20 specialist and a potential finisher, the Australian all-rounder has been witnessing all the action from the dug-out so far in IPL. He is a canny fast bowler with several variations that make it tough for the batsman to score runs off him. Faulkner is also capable of scoring quick runs with the bat and has been termed as a finisher in the shortest version of the game.

Before featuring for the Lions, he has played for Pune Warriors India, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in the previous editions of IPL. He has a wonderful record in the league having played 52 matches in which he scored 473 runs at an average of 22.52 with a strike rate of 142.47. He also bagged 52 wickets and has 2 five wicket hauls with 5/16 being his best performance with the ball.

Rishi Dhawan

The all-rounder from Himachal Pradesh was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s player auction for INR 55 Lakh. Before that, he was with Mumbai Indians. The Knight Riders have had a history of keeping a flurry of all-rounders in the squad and hence not all of them get the opportunity to play. Dhawan has been out of the playing XI due to the same policy and might find it tough to get many games this season.

In 26 IPL matches, he has scored 153 runs with the bat and taken 18 wickets with the ball. Although his IPL record doesn’t speak volumes about his caliber yet he was being regarded as a top all-rounder in the Indian contingent. He was also selected to play for India on the Australian tour for the ODIs and for the Zimbabwe tour for the T20s.