5 Promising Domestic Players Devoid Of Opportunities In IPL 2018

The Indian Premier League has unearthed a plethora of talent over the years and all the eight franchises have played an important part in bringing those players to the limelight from the farthest corners of the country. However, there have also been instances when fine domestic players have warmed the benches of their franchises season after season despite good showing in other domestic competitions. The 2018 edition of IPL isn't short of such players as it has seen some very good players warming the benches. Let us have a look at five of those players who couldn't fulfill their potential this year due to lack of opportunities.

Navdeep Saini

The fast bowler from Delhi was seen in terrific bowling form in Ranji Trophy 2017/18 bowling terrific lengths in that tournament at speeds of over 140kph and was instrumental in Delhi’s quest to the final. He ended up as the joint fifth highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 34 wickets to his name at an average of 22.73 and economy rate of 2.82 and hence was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a hefty sum of 3 crore INR. However, opportunities were hard to come by for the 25-year old as the franchise didn’t fancy playing him in any of their 14 games. Even impressive List A record of 31 wickets in 20 matches at an average of 29.67 and economy rate of 5.16, and T20 record of 13 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 25.30 and economy rate of 6.03 didn’t work in his favour to fetch him a game in Bangalore’s shoddy campaign.

Apoorv Wankhede

Picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for 20 lakhs INR in the IPL Auctions this year, Vidarbha batsman Apoorv Wankhede looked to be a likely starter in the Knight Riders squad owing to his superb domestic run prior to the start of the tournament. He scored 296 runs in 10 Ranji matches in Vidarbha’s title-winning campaign this year including an instrumental century against Kerala that helped them reach the semi-finals. Moreover, he smashed a career best knock of 157 in the Irani Cup this year as well. Although he seemed to be a bit off-touch in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year, his exploits of 197 runs at an average of 49.25 and strike rate of 151.61 in 2015/16 edition of the tournament suggested enough about his big hitting abilities. He was also instrumental in finishing off three out of five matches last year in the same tournament. Hence, he looked like the most likely candidate for the finisher’s role in Kolkata’s squad this year. However, he was not given any sort of opportunity in this edition of IPL as Rinku Singh was always preferred over him for that role.

Manjot Kalra

The Delhi Daredevils signed the U-19 star up for his base price of 20 lakhs INR in the IPL Auctions this year. He was selected on the back of a scintillating U-19 World Cup campaign in which he scored 252 runs in 5 innings at a staggering average of 84.00. Those 5 innings also included a stellar century in the final of the World Cup that helped India to win the match comfortably.

Kalra, a left handed batsman, could have done well if he would have been given a couple of opportunities at the top of the order along with Prithvi Shaw. More because of the fact that the Daredevils struggled with their opening combination throughout the tournament. However, they were probably not convinced with his abilities as compared to others which saw him warming the bench for their entire campaign.

Rahul Chahar

It was a waste of resources by Mumbai as they didn't use Rahul Chahar’s services at all after buying him for a hefty sum of INR 1.9 crore in the auctions. The 18-year old is a quality leg spinner and has shown his talent and potential in whatever opportunities he has got. Last year he played for the Rising Pune Super Giants and had picked up two wickets in three matches, one of which was that of the dangerous Brendon McCullum.

He was seen in superb form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year as he claimed six wickets in four matches, one of which was that of Gautam Gambhir.

Mayank Markande’s opening burst with the ball was the highlight of the initial part of Mumbai’s campaign. However, Chahar should have replaced him since Markande became off-form during the middle of the tournament. At least Mumbai could have tried someone different and that may just have worked for them to qualify for the playoffs.

Tajinder Singh Dhillon

He is another one of those talented domestic players in the Mumbai Indians camp who went totally unused this year. He was not even given a single game despite his Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy exploits this year in which he came up with a brilliant all-round performance scoring 198 runs and having taken 8 wickets with the ball. His best performance in that tournament came against Mumbai in which he scored 43 runs and also picked up two wickets to help his team Rajasthan to victory. He even has a first class century to his name and boasts of an impressive bowling record of 15 wickets from 15 T20s at an average of 16.06 and economy rate of 6.69. However, even these kind of statistics didn't prove to be enough to convince the Mumbai Indians think tank to try him out in one match at least.