Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
5 Under-Utilized Indian Players in IPL 2020 | 5 Indian players who haven’t played used as well as they should have in IPL 2020
The Indian Premier League (IPL) outfits often end up acquiring domestic talents aplenty. On match-days, they are spoilt for choices to pick cricketers from the Indian contingent and hence many individuals end up warming the bench more often than they deserve to.
Such is the nature of the tournament that the franchises wouldn’t allow these players to make a switch during the mid-season transfer window either, as they are wary of strengthening other teams at such a critical stage of the competition.
In some sides, these players tend to be rewarded for their patience whereas otherwise they are sent back to the auction table. In this piece, we take a look at five Indian cricketers whose potential wasn’t optimized in the 13th edition of the IPL.
5. Jagadeesha Suchith
Kings XI Punjab have oscillated between multiple spin-bowling alternatives to find a consistent partner for Ravi Bishnoi. The likes of Krishnappa Gowtham, Harpreet Brar and Murugan Ashwin have been persisted with at different stages of the tournament. Ashwin proved to be a decent alternative but it is also intriguing that the KL Rahul-led side did not opt for Jagadeesha Suchith for even one of the games in IPL 2020.
The slow left-arm orthodox bowler is pretty valuable during the field restriction overs and can plug the flow of runs when required. He is wily in terms of altering the pace of his deliveries and is willing to offer flight to pluck a wicket or two as per the demand of the situation. Moreover, he can be more than handy with the bat and that could have added some more strength to Punjab’s lower middle-order. Overall, Suchith is quite a utilitarian player in the T20 format and Kings’ team management should possibly have tried him out in the playing XI at some point in the season.
4. Mahipal Lomror
With the likes of Robin Utthapa and Yashasvi Jaiswal unable to deliver regularly, Rajasthan Royals lacked the services of a consistent Indian batsman. Even Sanju Samson’s stocks had faltered in the middle phases of the tournament. On the other hand, they played 19-year-old all-rounder Mahipal Lomror in only three games.
The southpaw has showed the intuitiveness with the willow to succeed in the T20 format and could have added some unpredictable and unorthodox element to the Royals’ middle-order. His temperament was visible in the match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on October 3. The Rajasthan-based team had succumbed to 31/3 at 4.1 overs when Lomror came out to bat. They lost Uthappa at 10.1 overs with the score reading merely 70.
Lomror stitched valuable partnerships with him and then Riyan Parag to score a valuable 47 runs from 39 deliveries and took the team to a challenging total of 154 runs eventually. Moreover, Lomror didn’t bowl a single over in his three matches either, something that adds an additional value to his overall stature as a cricketer. It would be safe to say that RR could have better utilized the lad’s skills and talents for their advantage this time around.
3. Basil Thampi
Sunrisers Hyderabad have adopted the approach of fielding an all-Indian pace attack in recent times. That allows them to play multiple foreigners in the batting lineup and accommodate Rashid Khan lower down the order. Opportunities arise for many domestic fast-bowlers through such a method, but Basil Thampi has not availed the benefits of the same this season. The 27-year-old bowls at a high pace, touching 140kmph, can hit the short of good length area and is adept at delivering yorkers too.
With Bhuvneshwar Kumar ruled out of the competition, it was perhaps the ideal situation to offer Thampi a run of matches and let him prove his mettle. Instead, he was drafted in for a solitary game, in which he conceded 46 runs in four overs and took one wicket. Post that, the pacer didn’t attain single opportunity. The fast bowler manages to induce enough zip and incisiveness in his deliveries and is capable of bowling different lengths in varying stages of the innings. Maybe, SRH could have had further success with the former Gujarat Lions player in their playing XI.
2. Wriddhiman Saha
One wouldn’t blame the SRH management for not inducting Wriddhiman Saha in the playing XI early on in the tournament, considering that Saha is not renowned for his batting capabilities in the shorter format. However, the wicketkeeper has made heads turn in his three matches so far for the Hyderabad-based franchise. Saha has notched 156 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 144.44, which includes a match-winning knock of 87 runs off 45 deliveries against the Delhi Capitals.
In the previous game, he scored a brisk 39 runs to steer the chase against RCB. Saha’s outings have kept the team in the hunt for a playoff spot. Not many would have favoured SRH to come out triumphant against the Capitals’ splendid bowling lineup but the team managed to rack up 219 runs on the board courtesy Saha’s knock. His sudden surge in form needs more pondering, though Hyderabad would possibly regret not playing him consistently earlier in the tournament.
1. Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi has scored 687 out of total 949 runs in his IPL career as an opener. And yet, he was not started the innings with in five out of the 11 innings that he played this season.
The first time that he was promoted to the top of the order in this campaign was against CSK, in which Tripathi scored 81 runs in 51 deliveries and propelled the team to a winning total of 167 runs. He had a couple of underwhelming outings later on, but the constant alteration of his batting order tends to disrupt a player’s momentum.
The only season in which Tripathi opened the batting regularly was his breakthrough one with Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, in which he notched 391 runs in 14 innings. It isn’t difficult to figure out that the 29-year-old is most comfortable at the top of the lineup, where he tends to be busy by taking quick singles and conveniently clears the infield to bag boundaries and set the base for a long innings furthermore.
For the past three seasons, Rahul Tripathi’s potential has never been maximized either by RR or KKR. The batsman would do further well if he finds another team that plays him at the spot where he deserves to in the next campaign of the IPL.
Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.
