IPL 2019: 3 unsold foreign players who could have helped RCB qualify for the playoffs

Another season. Another disappointment. Despite having a good looking squad on paper, Royal Challengers Bangalore once again managed to finish at the bottom of the points table. Shoddy team selections, lack of patience and some poor bowling performances were the main reasons behind another failed campaign for the Bangalore franchise. RCB is one of the well-supported teams in IPL with thousands of cricket fans thronging the Chinnaswamy stadium year after year in the hope of finally seeing Virat Kohli lift the prestigious trophy. However, every year they go back home disappointed.

RCB had some great acquisitions at the auctions in Shimron Hetmyer and Shivam Dube. But both of them failed to match their price tags and were left out of the playing XI by the team management.

Let's take a look at some unsold foreign players who might have helped RCB secure a playoff berth.

1. Jason Holder-

Jason Holder

RCB had some good all-rounders in Marcus Stoinis and Colin de Grandhomme at the start of the season. While de Grandhomme is a big hitter of the ball, Stoinis can bat according to the situation and can bowl some handy overs as well. Both of them failed to live up to the expectations this year. RCB started off with Colin in the playing XI but he was eventually replaced by Stoinis during the latter half of the tournament who himself was pretty poor this year.

Jason Holder is one of the most underrated cricketers in World cricket. Holder has done a great job of leading the depleted West Indies side in World cricket. However, the West Indian Captain has failed to secure a contract with any of the IPL franchises during the past three years, having last represented Kolkata during the 2016 campaign. Although his IPL record is nothing to be proud of, Holder’s game has grown by leaps and bounds during the past two years, making him one of the best all-rounders going around in cricket.

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2. Chris Jordan-

Chris Jordan

Bowling especially the death overs bowling has always been the Achilles heel for the Bangalore side. The fast bowlers were hammered all over the park by the opposition teams. Both Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj were very disappointing with the ball. Tim Southee too had a forgettable tournament as he leaked runs. The only solace for Captain Kohli was the performance of Dale Steyn who impressed in his two outings. But he too was forced out due to shoulder trouble.

Chris Jordan is a T20 specialist and applies his trade throughout the World. He has played for RCB in the past but wasn’t impressive enough and was subsequently left out of the team. Jordan has an impressive Yorker in his repertoire and can stem the flow of runs in the fag end of the innings. He can act as a mentor and can help the young RCB attack during the death overs.

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3. Alex Hales-

Alex Hales

RCB missed a big hitter at the top this year as they opted to go with Parthiv Patel and Captain Virat Kohli as the openers. Although Parthiv got some handy cameos this year, he couldn’t force things once the powerplay overs were finished. This is where someone like Alex Hales could have stepped in. Hales is one of the biggest hitters in limited overs cricket. The tall right-hander from England is good against the short ball and can slog sweep the spinners with great ease.

England limited-overs side has tasted great success in recent past owing to their strong batting line up and Alex Hales is an important part of it. Franchises have usually ignored Englishmen over the years in the IPL. However, a stellar show from Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran in their inaugural season make a great case for including more Englishmen like Alex Hales and Jason Roy in future.

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