IPL: 5 Players who deserve a better team next season

These players will play a bigger role for the other teams.

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Nitish Rana and Andre Russell
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Nitish Rana and Andre Russell. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)

Nitish Rana and Andre Russell
Nitish Rana. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)

Eight teams began a marathon, IPL 2019 five weeks ago and now most of them are close to the finish line, the final phase of the league. Every competitor wanted to win the gold and that gave them an extra push to get a good lead at the start of the race. The strategies of most of the participants worked, but some faltered at the middle of the race and now are sprinting to catch-up in the last lap, playoffs. The crowd has cheered continuously and now are expecting their favourite team to break the finish line ribbon, lift the trophy.

The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has continued its juggernaut, and the ties have been nothing short of fairytales. The teams have played a good brand of cricket, and the defiant ones are in the final four. Various players have got their opportunities to shine but few of them have also missed the action. These players should consider themselves unlucky and they deserve to be in the other teams.

Here are the five players who deserve a better team in IPL 2020:

1) Mohit Sharma – Kolkata Knight Riders

Mohit Sharma
Mohit Sharma. (Photo Source: IANS)

The Haryana cricketer was snapped by the Chennai franchise in IPL 2019 auction for a bountiful amount of Rs 5 crores. It was exciting times for the speedster, as it was kind of a homecoming for him and MS Dhoni has always preferred experience in his team. Mohit Sharma started his career in CSK den, and at the end couple of seasons he even went on to represent India at the highest level. He has played 85 matches in his IPL career in which he has taken 91 wickets at an economy rate of 8.40.

This year Chennai’s fast bowlers have struggled in death overs, and that’s where Mohit would have been a good option for them. Surprisingly, the captain cool has used the pacer for only one match where he was rusty and conceded 27 runs in 3 overs. Mohit is a crafty bowler who can bowl in powerplays and in the death overs, and that’s why he will be a great asset for the KKR side.

Kolkata has no experienced fast bowler in their line-up, and their pacers have been leaking runs at a rate of 9.50 in this season. Mohit can solve this problem and can guide the rookies if he is picked by them in the next season.

2) Washington Sundar – Chennai Super Kings

Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar. (Photo: IANS)

Washington Sundar was a hot commodity after a successful IPL 2017, and he was picked up by the Bangalore franchise for a whopping Rs 3.20 crores in the following auction. He could have formed a lethal combination with the leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal. The Kohli-led side was intending to use him in the powerplays, and he was also a decent lower-order batsman. Sundar has played 21 games in his IPL tourney in which he has scalped 16 wickets at an economy rate of 7.60.

The off-spinner was a great addition to the RCB side but the expectations bogged down his performances, and till now he has played only nine games for them in two seasons. The youngster was used in an ill-suited manner by the franchise, and that’s why Chennai can be a good option for him.

The Dhoni-led side has quality spinners but most of them are on the other side of the 30s. Sundar can find his rhythm back in the Chennai dugout, as the team consists of some quality cricketing brains. Sundar will also thrive on the slow surfaces of M. Chidambaram, and it is also his home ground.

3) Nitish Rana – Sunrisers Hyderabad

Nitish Rana and Andre Russell
Nitish Rana (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)

The youngster from Delhi is an exuberant talent and is surely going to be a star for the Indian cricket in the near future. After a good season for Mumbai in 2017, Nitish Rana was bagged by the Kolkata franchise in the 2018 IPL auction for a good deal of Rs 3.40 crores. The left-hander was used in the middle-order by the Karthik-led side, and he scored over 300 runs in that season. Till now Rana has played 45 games in which he has scored over 1000 runs at a strike rate of 133 and at an average of 30.

The southpaw has been a consistent performer for the KKR team, and in this season he has already scored 318 runs in 13 ties. Russell has been their mainstay due to which he has been pushed above the order and as a result, Rana has not batted in his last 2 games.

The trend is likely to continue in the next season, and that’s why Rana can ply his trade for the Hyderabad team in IPL 2020. The Sunrisers are heavily dependent on the top-order, as they have scored 54% of their runs in this year. Nitish Rana can solve their middle muddle, and he can be match-winner if enough opportunities are provided to him.

4) Ish Sodhi – Kolkata Knight Riders

Ish Sodhi
Ish Sodhi. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)

The Kiwi leg-spinner went unsold in the 2018 IPL auction but was picked up by the Rajasthan franchise as a replacement player for a base price of Rs 50 lakhs. Ish Sodhi has an impressive international record, and that prompted the team to bag him after their initial pick Zahir Khan pulled out. He immediately found success by bowling in tandem with Shreyas Gopal. Sodhi has played 8 matches in IPL in which he has taken 9 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.6.

RR had an average season as apart from Gopal and Jofra Archer, their bowling lacks depth and that’s why they should have utilized Sodhi’s international experience. He played only two games in which he fared decently. Due to the presence of many foreign stars, Sodhi is likely to get a game when somebody is injured so it is better if he gets picked by KKR.

Kolkata is really struggling with their bowling, and their tweakers are having a torrid time with an economy rate of 8.34 in the season. Sodhi can breathe a new lease of life into their line-up in the next edition and he can be a game changer.

5) Oshane Thomas – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Oshane Thomas, Rajasthan Royals
Oshane Thomas. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Oshane Thomas was snapped up by the Rajasthan franchise in IPL 2019 auction at a price tag of Rs 1 crore, and it was considered as a steal deal. The Jamaican speedster can crank up the pace, and he can trouble opposition even on good tracks. Archer and Thomas would have formed a deadly duo if they played together in more games. The Windies pacer played only 3 times in which he has scalped 5 wickets at an economy rate of 7.33.

In this season RR lost a lot of close ties, as their fast bowlers let them down at crucial junctures. Archer didn’t get any support and that’s why Thomas should have played more games as he may have changed the fortunes of the side. Rajasthan is heavily dependent on overseas batsmen so, they will rarely play both of the pacers in the same playing XI due to which Thomas will miss out on most occasions even in the next season.

In that case, the Windies player can move to the RCB side as they desperately need a quality pacer. The fast bowlers of Bangalore are leaking runs at a rate of 9.20, and that’s why Thomas can add immense value to the team as he can also bowl death overs.

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