Martin Guptill could still feature in this year’s IPL according to Manjrekar and Jayawardene

Martin Guptill was surprisingly snubbed by IPL teams during the auction in February this year. Most predicted the Kiwi batsman to go for big bucks however that didn’t happen. Despite the snub, Guptill has been performing brilliantly for New Zealand, and former cricketers like Sanjay Manjrekar and Mahela Jayawardene believe that the dashing opener could still find his way into IPL 2016.

The ninth edition of IPL, which is set to start from April 9, will go on for around a month and a half, and with injuries likely during the competition, Manjrekar and Jayawardene believe IPL teams could jump at the chance of signing the Kiwi.

“This guy (Guptill) is a proper player, not a T20 basher. There is an injury that is waiting to happen in the IPL and Guptill is the quick replacement,” Manjrekar said in an ESPNCricinfo video. The former India batsman also praised the player for playing shots all around the wicket. Guptill hammered 80 runs from just 48 balls, which included ten fours and three sixes, against Pakistan in Mohali to help New Zealand qualify for the semi-final of the World T20.

Jayawardene has been impressed by the manner in which Guptill has been able to take on the bowlers during the Powerplays, and with it provide a perfect base for the rest of the batsmen to follow. “Guptill has done it over and over again. He gets a good starts in the first six overs and kicks on and make a 70-80. All other batsmen can bat around him. He does it very quickly, gives the team a good platform,” Jayawardene said.

Prior to the IPL auction in February, Guptill had been in stellar form and had scores of 30 plus in seven of his last eight matches. The main reason for picking Guptill in the IPL auctions was thought to be because most franchises have a settled opening combination. However, Jayawardene believes the IPL franchises might change their minds, after seeing his form with the bat in the World T20. “Even if a fast bowler is injured they might replace him (with Guptill),” Jayawardene opined.