2 players who were benched for the entire league stage and then picked for playoffs by IPL teams

The IPL playoffs are the most exciting phase of any season. Initially, the top four teams of the league round would compete against each other in the semifinals format, but the BCCI introduced the playoffs format in 2012, and since then, the top two teams have received two chances to qualify for the final, while the third and fourth-placed teams need to win three consecutive knockout games to win the title.

With the introduction of two new franchises in 2022, the league stage of the IPL has expanded to 70 matches now. Each team plays 14 matches—seven at home and seven away from home. The top four teams with the most points qualify for the playoffs.

Generally, teams prefer playing with their best-performing lineup from the league stage in the playoffs. However, in the long history of the Indian Premier League, there have been a couple of instances when a team benched a player during the league stage and then drafted him straight into the playing XI for the playoffs.

In this article, we will look at two such players who were on the bench in the first round but got a chance to play in the playoffs.

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#1 Darshan Nalkande, Gujarat Titans

The Gujarat Titans impressed everyone with their tactics and team management in their debut season last year. GT used a majority of their players in the league round and then backed the top performers in the playoffs. They knew their perfect team combination, and that helped them become champions in their debut season itself.

Fans expected Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra to continue in the same way in the IPL 2023 playoffs as well. However, Pandya and Nehra decided to draft an untested Darshan Nalkande into the playing XI for the Qualifier 1 match against the Chennai Super Kings. Nalkande replaced an out-of-form Yash Dayal.

GT gave four overs to Nalkande, and he returned as the most expensive bowler with figures of 1/44. The experiment proved to be a mistake, as GT ended up losing the game by 15 runs. It will be interesting to see if Nalkande gets a chance to play in Qualifier 2 tonight.

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#2 Sunny Gupta played his only IPL game in the 2012 playoffs

There have been many great players in IPL history, but no one except Sunny Gupta can brag about the fact that they played the one and only game of their career in the playoffs.

Gupta made his debut for the Delhi Capitals (then known as Delhi Daredevils) in the Qualifier 2 match against the Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Delhi then dropped Purple Cap holder Morne Morkel in the playing XI and picked mystery spinner Gupta in the playing XI for the Qualifier 2.

Captain Virender Sehwag gave Gupta the first over, but the move backfired. The rookie off-spinner leaked 47 runs in his three wicketless overs. CSK ended up scoring 222/5 in 20 overs. In reply, Delhi lost all their wickets for 136 runs and suffered a massive 86-run defeat.