IPL 2022: Unlucky Bench 11 of the Season – Mohammad Nabi to Lead

Chetan Sakariya, the most unfortunate player as we look at the bench playing 11 of the season for IPL 2022. 

If there’s one word to describe the tournament so far, it would be Uncapped Magic. The kind of Indian talent we have witnessed so far has been quite phenomenal. From the likes of batters like Ayush Badoni, Tilak Varma, Abhinav Manohar, Anuj Rawat, to the bowlers like Umran Malik, Yash Dayal, Akash Deep or the all-rounders like Abhishek Sharma, Lalit Yadav, or Rahul Tewatia. 

With uncapped players performing so well, there have been instances even a lot of potential capped or experienced Indian players have been kept warming the bench. So, In this article, we take a look at eleven such players who would form the unfortunate bench playing 11 of the IPL 2022 so far. 

To select the bench playing 11 for IPL 2022, we would select the combination of 7 Indians and 4 overseas players. Players would be selected for their positions. So, openers would be selected for the opening position, middle-order for number 3-5 positions, and so on. Moreover, players would be chosen basis their performance rating, which is derived from their performance in IPL in the last three years and their Domestic / International form. 

Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Manan Vohra

Gujarat Titans and their persistence with Matthew Wade has been a story of their campaign so far. They persisted with Wade for 5 continuous matches, but unfortunately, Wade didn’t come good in any of those. In the sixth match, Wade was expected to get dropped, and Gurbaz was finally expecting a debut, but luck didn’t favour him as Hardik missed the game due to injury, and Saha replaced him. Gurbaz has been itching to get his IPL debut, but will have to wait for more. 

Manan Vohra, the talented opening batter can also call himself unlucky to have missed out from the playing 11. When Manish Pandey was out of form, Vohra at 3 wouldn’t have been a bad option. But Lucknow Super Giants didn’t opt for him, and instead went ahead with Krishnappa Gowtham. Moreover, Vohra has been in solid touch in the domestic circuit, and can make a good impression if selected.

Middle-order: KS Bharat & Glenn Phillips & Mahipal Lomror 

KS Bharat, one of the star performers of the RCB campaign last season and also the second-choice keeper for Team India in Tests would find himself unlucky to have not got a single game so far. Ideally, KS Bharat should have played as a first-choice batter at 3 in Warner and Marsh’s absence, but Mandeep Singh got the run, and he failed in his chances. Even when Delhi Capitals dropped Mandeep, Sarfaraz Khan was preferred above him in the playing XI. 

Glenn Phillips, the hard-hitting middle-order batter from New Zealand would find himself touch unfortunate to have not got a single game so far. When Romario Shephard failed in the first 2 matches, Glenn Phillips could have got a game to strengthen the batting at 6. But that was not to be as SRH decided to strengthen the bowling by bringing in Marco Jansen.

Mahipal Lomror may not be a big name in the IPL circuit, but he could have been a good addition to RCB’s squad in the middle-order. Even when Glenn Maxwell wasn’t there, RCB went ahead with the inexperience of Suyash Prabhudesaai. Mahipal Lomror, who carries good IPL experience could have been a good option at 4 or 5. Nevertheless, expect Lomror to get a game as we move along.

Finisher All-rounders: Mohammad Nabi & Rishi Dhawan

Coming to the all-rounders, Mohammad Nabi, a smart bowler and a hard-hitting finisher may be a touch unlucky to have been purchased by an overseas players dominant team, KKR. Three of the four overseas players, Russell, Narine, and Cummins pick for themselves, and the fourth overseas needed an opener or wicket-keeper. So, even as the Afghan captain deserved to play, there’s, unfortunately, no place for another overseas all-rounder. 

Rishi Dhawan, one of the best all-rounders going around in the Indian domestic circuit was selected by the Punjab Kings. Ideally, Rishi Dhawan should have played from match 1 at number 6 or 7 as the bowling all-rounder for them. But the likes of Harpreet Brar and Raj Bawa got a game, but he didn’t. Rishi is a bowler who can swing the ball in the powerplay and can be a good finisher; as he has been for Himachal. Hope he gets a game in the coming matches. 

Spinner: Shreyas Gopal

Talking about the spinner, Shreyas Gopal, he would find himself unfortunate to have not got a chance to play in IPL 2022. With Sundar being there, Shreyas Gopal wouldn’t have got a game. However, when Sundar got injured, Gopal could have played as the primary spinner, but SRH chose Suchith. But with Sundar expected to return, Shreyas Gopal may not be able to get a single game unless for injury. 

Pacer: Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya & Riley Meredith

Coming to the bowlers, the first name that seems to be the most unfortunate player to have missed getting the game has been Chetan Sakariya. One of the good performing bowlers for Rajasthan Royals until 2021 was purchased by Delhi Capitals for this season. Unfortunately, Delhi management showed more trust in Khaleel Ahmed and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

While the selection of Khaleel Ahmed is understandable, selecting Kamlesh Nagarkoti ahead of Chetan Sakariya felt like a bizarre move. The talented left-arm pacer is a brilliant bowler as he can swing the ball and can bowl good yorkers. But seeing Khaleel’s form, it seems Chetan may warm the bench for the entire tournament; which would be most unfortunate. 

The second bowler and another Rajasthan Royals pacer who would find himself unfortunate to have been selected by Sunrisers Hyderabad. The SRH team has solid Indian bowlers and three solid overseas bowlers. That’s the reason, even the talent like Kartik Tyagi is warming the bench. Kartik Tyagi may not be express pace like Umran Malik, but is experienced and can bowl good lengths. But with the form of Umran Kartik may find it difficult to play even a single game for SRH. 

The final bowler who has been unlucky to have not been featured in the playing 11 has been Riley Meredith. On one hand, Mumbai Indians have been losing the matches and on the other hand, they have been playing with a mediocre bowling line-up. Not once but there have been many instances where Meredith could have played. But Mumbai Indians chose not to. Hopefully, Meredith gets a game in the next match in place of Tymal Mills. 

IPL 2022 – Unfortunate Bench Playing 11 of the Season so far: 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Manan Vohra, KS Bharat (WK), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Phillips, Mohammad Nabi, Rishi Dhawan, Riley Meredith, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya & Kartik Tyagi

Thanks for reading! Which player has been the most unfortunate to miss the IPL 2022 so far? Please email your comments to business@cricalytics.com

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