Unsung heroes: 5 underrated players from IPL winning teams
Ever since its inception in 2008, IPL has established itself as the most prominent short-format league in the world. It has been an unparalleled platform for those players who were restricted, lacking exposure, and opportunities to deliver despite having the talent. Fame and recognition have been constants of IPL and it has given many unknown players a chance to open the doors of selection at the bigger level. Nevertheless, there have been some highly underrated players who have performed, who have contributed to the success of their teams and are yet not regarded and given the credit they deserve. Let’s take a look at five such unsung IPL heroes-
5. Piyush Chawla- KKR
Piyush Chawla’s international career never teed off, however, he has played a pivotal role for his IPL team KKR on multiple occasions and has been a part of the winning team in 2014. With a record 157 games under his belt, Chawla has bagged 150 wickets at a brilliant economy rate of 7.82 per over and has also played some crucial knocks with the bat. Despite his efforts, he has never been recognized as much and has often been overshadowed by the likes of Sunil Narine.
4. Shikhar Dhawan- SRH
His name might be a surprise entry for some, however, the truth remains that Shikhar Dhawan has been much better than what he is credited for. Despite some of his staggering numbers, the southpaw, who was with the team during their maiden IPL title in 2016, he has hardly been regarded as a genuine match-winner. He scored a massive 501 runs in 17 matches in 2016 edition and has 4578 runs in his 159 matches at 33.17 and 37 half-centuries overall. Still, the Delhi-star has never been given his due credit like his counterparts.
3. Subramaniam Badrinath- CSK
Badrinath has been one of the most illustrious names in domestic cricket. Having played a staggering 95 IPL matches, he has amassed 1441 runs at 30.66 which includes several match-defining knocks. The Tamil-Nadu batsman was an essential member of the CSK team that won two consecutive IPL titles in 2010 and 2011. Despite being his team’s crisis man on many occasions, he was often used as a floater and his performance went under the radar due to the presence of legendary players in the team.
2. Suryakumar Yadav- MI
Suryakumar Yadav has been a regular face in the Mumbai Indians’ setup. He has already shown all the required skills of becoming a successful cricketer with his brilliant performances at the domestic level and as well as in the IPL, where he has been part of two triumphant campaigns. The first one coming in 2014 with KKR and second in 2019 with MI when he ended up as the second leading-run scorer of the team with 424 runs out of his overall tally of 1544 runs in 85 matches. Despite such contributions, he is never given the recognition he deserves.
1. Swapnil Asnodkar- RR
He has to be the most underrated of all the players on the list. A free-flowing stroke-player, Swapnil Asnodkar was the part of the Rajasthan Royals’ setup in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008 that RR ended up winning. The Goa batsman became the answer to the difficult question of the opening slot as captain Warne had tried many options to no effect. He became a regular alongside Graeme Smith and scored 311 runs at 34.55 with 2 half-centuries in 9 matches. Despite playing his role with responsibility, there are no mentions of him when RR’s 2008 triumph is discussed.
