IPL 2018: 5 players who deserved to play the playoffs

The long tussle for the last two playoffs spots ended with Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals beating other teams to make it to the final four.

The teams gave their everything to make it to the playoffs but failed due to their inconsistency and poor form of some of the key players.

However, there were a lot of players who stood up and played some brilliant cricket and carried their team's hopes on their shoulders for the major part of the tournament.

With such strong performances, these players would have hoped to be part of the playoffs but they can't because of their teams' dismal show.

We will look at five such players who deserved to play the playoffs but unfortunately can not.

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#5 Hardik Pandya

Pandya has improved his bowling

Mumbai Indians fought hard till their last match only to be knocked out by Delhi Daredevils in their last league match.

The only bright spot in the otherwise disappointing campaign for the defending champions was Hardik Pandya.

The all-rounder continued his golden run in the IPL by playing some stunning cricket. He scored 260 runs at an average of 28.88 and played some crucial cameos at the end of the inning.

Normally considered to be a batting all-rounder, Pandya impressed with the ball too. He took 18 wickets in 13 matches and was one of the contenders for the purple cap.

Pandya might be disappointed for not getting his team through to the playoffs but he can be proud of his performance.

#4 Andrew Tye

Tye took a lot of wickets with the knuckleball

Kings XI Punjab raised a few eyebrows when they picked Andrew Tye for a jaw-dropping price of 7.20 crores at the auction.

But Tye showed that he was worth every penny put on him. The Australian pacer was spectacular throughout the season as he picked up 24 wickets in 14 matches.

He bowled most of his overs in the death overs and showed amazing control with his pace variations.

Tye used the knuckleball to good effect and foxed a lot of batsmen with its use. He was Ashwin's go-to bowler throughout the IPL and did the job for his side on most occasions.

Tye finished up as the highest wicket-taker in the league stage and it is sad that the purple cap holder won't be in the playoffs.

#3 Ab De Villiers

Ab de Villers was the mainstay of RCB's middle-order

Royal Challengers Bangalore's poor run in the IPL continued as they failed to reach the playoffs again. RCB faltered because of its inconsistent middle-order, as it was overdependent on a couple of individuals - one of them being Ab De Villiers.

The South African played some eye-catching innings this year. This season was de Villiers's best in terms of batting average.

He scored 480 runs in 12 matches with an outstanding average of 53.33 and a healthy strike-rate of 174.54. De Villiers tried his level best to get his team through, but he lacked support from the other end.

If only RCB's other batsmen could have performed even half of what de Villiers did, they would have easily qualified for the playoffs.

#2 KL Rahul

Rahul looked unstoppable this season

Kings XI Punjab invested big bucks in KL Rahul when he was bought at a hefty sum of 11 crores at the auction.

Rahul justified the trust put in him by scoring big runs. He announced himself in the tournament by hitting the fastest IPL 50 in KXIP's very first match.

The Karnataka batsman went on to score 659 runs with a spectacular average of 54.91 and a healthy strike-rate of 158.41.

What makes Rahul's performance even more special is the fact that he also had to perform the wicket-keeping duties, a role he isn't used to.

Considering Rahul's spectacular batting display and the way he single-handedly won matches for his side, one will feel sorry for Rahul's team not qualifying for the playoffs.

#1 Rishabh Pant

Pant celebrating his maiden IPL century that he scored against SRH

Rishabh Pant is considered to be the next big thing in Indian cricket and he showed why. Pant gave a good account of himself by playing some unbelievable innings in IPL 2018.

The dashing left-hand batsman has been in rich vein of form as he ended the season as the highest run-getter in the league stage.

Pant scored 684 runs at an impressive average of 52.61 and a stupendous strike-rate of 173.60.

He also hit the most number of sixes, 37, in the league stage of the tournament. But unfortunately, other batsmen in the Delhi Daredevils batting line-up failed to provide support to Pant and the team crashed out of the tournament pretty early.

Fans will miss Pant's hard-hitting batting in the playoffs.

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