The Indian Premier League is filled with riches, not just financially but also of talent. There are many players who start for their international teams but somehow cannot get a look in for their respective franchises because of the rule that allows only four overseas players to play for each team.
Here, we take a look at IPL 2019's underutilised XI.
Openers
Martin Guptill - Guptill is New Zealand's opener in the limited overs formats of the game but cannot make it to the playing XI of SunRisers Hyderabad because of the presence of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. He is a proven matchwinner in the T20 format but the IPL is yet to see the damage he can cause with the bat in hand. He will come into the playing XI once Warner and Bairstow leave for the World Cup commitments.
Colin Munro - He is Guptill's opening partner for the Kiwis and is the number 2 ranked batsman in the T20 format. But cannot find a place in the Delhi Capitals side as the opening slot is locked down by India internationals Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. The middle order is manned by Colin Ingram and it looks likely that Munro will warm the bench this entire season.
Middle order
Wriddhiman Saha - He is India's number 1 wicketkeeper in the Test format and came into the tournament with a century in the domestic T20 tournament. He also has an IPL century which he scored for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 final against Kolkata Knight Riders. In T20s, he is a top-order batsman and for his franchise, Bairstow does the same job. But he will be another beneficiary once the Englishman leaves.
Karun Nair - He's one of only two Indians to score a triple century in Test matches but life has not been the same for Nair since that innings against England in 2017. He does not find a place in India's Test squad anymore and neither has he been getting games for his IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab.
All-rounders
Shakib Al Hasan - He's arguably one of the most decorated all-rounders of all time and is a legend in Bangladeshi cricket. A winner of the IPL in 2012 and 2014, Shakib has been kept out of the team as SRH has overseas talent in great number.
Washington Sundar - An extremely talented cricketer who can bat in the top order and bowl some handy off-spinners, he has not been able to replicate the form he showed in IPL 2017 and thus cannot get into an RCB team which has been performing well below par.
Mohammad Nabi - A mercurial talent from Afghanistan, he is a proven matchwinner with the ball and can hit a long ball with the bat. He has been a successful finisher in the Big Bash League and also bowls in the powerplay. But he could muster only a few games for SRH this season.
Bowlers
Tim Southee - Another player who did not get enough chances for RCB is Kiwi international Tim Southee. He's one of the best Test match bowlers around but even for an underperforming RCB, he did not get too many games and that is largely due to Andre Russell, who plundered him at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Trent Boult - Neither can Southee's bowling partner Boult find a place in his franchise's team as Rabada has been absolutely groundbreaking this season and leads the purple cap race. The other overseas bowler's slot has been occupied by Nepali leggie Sandeep Lamichhane.
Basil Thampi - He burst onto the scene with Gujarat Lions in the 2017 season of the IPL and was then snapped by SRH but his bad luck is the very franchise that picked him. His team has a plethora of quick bowling talent in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sidharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma. Another franchise like KKR could have very well used him.
Ish Sodhi - He is ranked 8th by ICC in the world in the T20 format but he cannot find a place in the Rajasthan Royals camp as the team has other international stars like Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes. But once the aforementioned leave for World Cup commitments, he could find his place in the team.
