IPL 2019: Underused players who could have made a difference

This year’s IPL definitely ranks as one of the best editions of the tournament. And one team that has particularly surprised me with their journey to the playoffs has been the Delhi Capitals. DC’s team management has shown how a complete overhaul can go a long way in changing a team’s fortunes. But the biggest takeaway from their season extraordinaire is the backing they’ve given to their young guns. I love the fact that Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly have gone all out in supporting the youngsters, and it has come good for the team.

A lot went wrong for the 4 teams that languished in the bottom half of the table. One of the biggest issues with these sides was their team balance. Some players got more backing than they needed, while the rest didn’t get enough.

Especially these 5 talented youngsters who could have made a whole lot of difference to their team’s campaigns:

Washington Sundar (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

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19-year old Washington Sundar had an impressive maiden IPL stint with Pune in 2017. RCB bought him in 2018, but he only played 7 games. This season, the bowling all-rounder was bought back by the same franchise for a whopping 3.2 crores. There was no sight of Sundar until RCB had almost played themselves out of the playoff contention. Their inability to build a solid core of Indian players was once again on display. Sundar played just 3 matches towards the end and picked 4 wickets. 3 of these wickets came in RCB’s final league match that they went on to win. It tells you the kind of impact Sundar could have had if he had gotten his chances earlier in the tournament.

Shivam Dube (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

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When you shell out 5 crores for a promising all-round sensation in his debut IPL season, you’ve got to take that risk and back him for most games. Shivam Dube was a fantastic prospect for RCB, given his incredible domestic performances and red-hot form. I was looking forward to watching him perform on the big stage. The franchise had a chance to reduce dependency on their star players by breeding young talent like him. Unfortunately, 4 matches were all it took for the management to drop Dube for good. I think they could have shown a little more faith in these guys. The IPL has unlocked many a talent year after year. With Sundar and Dube in the mix, RCB could’ve gotten the ‘X’ factor they desperately craved.

Rahul Tripathi (Rajasthan Royals)

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Another youngster who has had a couple of good IPL seasons is Rahul Tripathi.
I first saw this right-handed batsman opening for the Rising Pune Super Giant in 2017 – where he scored 319 runs with a personal best of 93. This year, the Rajasthan Royals retained him for another edition. But in the 8 matches that he played, he first batted at No.6, then kept shuffling to 4th or 5th. In the match against KXIP, he opened the batting and scored a free-flowing fifty. That knock should have been the sign RR needed to slot him back to No.1. Instead, they dropped him from the playing XI in the very next match against the Mumbai Indians. RR’s tactical blunders have often cost them on crucial occasions. Their unsettled batting line-up was one of the reasons for their downward spiral this IPL.

Sarfaraz Khan (Kings XI Punjab)

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The Kings XI Punjab had a dream start to their campaign this year, winning 3 of their first 4 matches. Sarfaraz Khan was one of the key players in that middle order with consistent scores of 30+. Despite his promising start, not only did KXIP drop him down the order but also out of the playing XI. In 8 matches this season, he raced away to 180 runs. I reckon Punjab missed a trick here by not playing an in-form batsman enough and shuffled him too much to accommodate the likes of David Miller and Nicholas Pooran. He’s a wonderful young talent and he deserves more game time!

Shubman Gill (Kolkata Knight Riders)

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Easily the find of the season for me! Shubman Gill is the kind of batsman that oozes confidence and maturity from the get-go. And that makes you wonder why a player of his class didn’t open for the Kolkata Knight Riders all along. 296 runs in 14 matches isn’t a bad showing, but he could have scored a lot more. KKR’s persistence with Sunil Narine at the top went a little too far. It was a gamble that worked last season, but Narine’s struggles this year put KKR in a dangerous spot. Gill was floating around from No.3 to 7, and it reflected in his performances. Most times, he couldn’t even bat thanks to Andre Russell’s closing cameos. By the time he became their regular opener, KKR had already lost the plot.