The group stage of the IPL 2016 is over and four top-ranked teams have qualified for the playoffs. While the top four will have a crack at the coveted prize, the other four teams will have to wait for their opportunities in the next year. They might rue the opportunities they missed and will also like to rectify the mistakes they made this time around.
Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Rising Pune Supergiants and the Kings XI Punjab are the four teams which missed the bus to the playoffs in the 9th edition and they might retrospect what exactly went wrong for them.
There is no doubt that they too had their moments this year which they failed to grab. Some players from these teams performed exceptionally and they might rue the fact they are out of the tournament now. But one thing is for sure that these players have left an indelible impression in the viewers’ minds with their stellar performances.
We have tried to make an XI of the best players from the eliminated teams of the IPL 2016. Here it is
1. Quinton de Kock
The talented South African keeper-batsman is one of the leading run-getters of the tournament as he has amassed 445 runs at an average of 37.08 in 13 games.
He also scored the first hundred of the 9th edition of the IPL against Royal Challengers Bangalore to chase a daunting target of 191.
The 23-year-old showed his class and proved why he is rated so highly nowadays. His ability to play spin added a dimension to his game as he kept producing breathtaking strokes against pace and spin.
However, he failed to inspire his side to the playoffs and the IPL will surely miss this talented young lad.
2. Ajinkya Rahane
One of the rare bright spots in the tenebrous Rising Pune Supergiants team, the ever-so-reliable Ajinkya Rahane showed his class as he scored 480 runs at an average of 43.63 in the tournament.
He also registered 6 half-centuries this season which itself is a proof of his unbelievable consistency.
Rahane used to build a solid foundation for the Pune side and he can do the same for this team too. A brilliant fielder, Rahane can save some crucial runs which can help any side in the limited-overs formats.
3. Rohit Sharma
The elegant Mumbai Indians captain shone with the bat this season as he accumulated 489 runs at an average of 44.45. He was instrumental in the matches Mumbai won this season as he guided them to victories on those occasions.
However, he failed to lead them to the playoffs as they failed to grab important moments in the tournament.
Rohit Sharma is chosen as the skipper of this squad as his record as a captain in the IPL speaks for him. He won two trophies for the Mumbai franchise in 2013 and 2015 and his leadership skills were highly praised.
4. Karun Nair
The talented Delhi Daredevils batsman impressed everyone with his consistent batting displays in the IPL 2016. The man who scored a triple hundred in the Ranji Trophy final in 2014-15 season surely showed his pedigree as he amassed 357 runs in the tournament
He played some very important knocks for his franchise this season and easily was one of the top performers for them this season
On the back of his solid performances, the young batsman also earned a call-up to the national side for the tour of Zimbabwe.
5. Krunal Pandya
The Baroda all-rounder was one of the finds of the tournament as he displayed some outstanding performances to hog the limelight. He even overshadowed his more famed younger brother Hardik who didn’t quite fire in the tournament.
Krunal scored 237 runs in 12 games at an incredible strike rate of 191.12. He did well with the ball too as he picked up 6 wickets in the 12 games he played.
The defending champions Mumbai Indians went out of the tournament after their loss to the Gujarat Lions in their last game and amidst all the dark clouds, Krunal’s emergence is definitely a bright spark for the disgruntled Mumbai franchise this season.
6. Rishabh Pant
The young man from Delhi, who was a part of the Indian Under-19 World Cup squad this year, made everyone sit and take notice of his incredible talent in the ongoing IPL 2016. The left-hander has unfurled some delightful strokes to show his potential and he is among the contenders fighting for the ‘Best Emerging Player’ award.
The 18-year-old left-hander is the young element in this squad who has all the shots in his books and played some crucial knocks for the Delhi Daredevils this season. The way he toyed with the Gujarat Lions bowling when he made his debut 50 in the IPL 2016 was absolutely breathtaking.
The talented young lad scored 198 runs in 10 games and surely would have found a place in the selectors’ notebooks.
7. Chris Morris
Undoubtedly one of the stars of the group stage, the South African all-rounder took the IPL by storm with his stellar performances with both bat and ball.
He played the knock of the tournament when he scored that breathtaking 82 off just 32 balls against Gujarat Lions . Morris scored 195 runs and picked up 13 wickets in the tournament to emerge as one of the top contenders for the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award.
Surely he would have loved to participate in the playoffs.
8. Amit Mishra
The veteran leg-spinner spelled his magic once again. He was the main spinner for the Delhi franchise and he did his job with elan.
He kept the batsmen guessing with his brilliant leg-spin bowling and controlled the middle overs with perfection.
Mishra was not afraid to toss the ball up and that reaped dividends once again as he scalped 13 wickets in the tournament and showed he is rated so highly in the slam-bang version.
9. Mitchell McClenaghan
The New Zealand fast bowler was one of the contenders for the purple cap this season as he once again was among the wickets for the Mumbai Indians this season.
He picked up 17 wickets and did the job for his side in most of the games.
McClenaghan would have loved to take the defending champions Mumbai to playoffs this season as well, but somehow Mumbai failed to click as a unit and it brought their downfall.
But the burly Kiwi pacer is someone one should definitely have in a T20 squad, given his happy knack of picking up wickets
The Kings XI Punjab fast bowler once again impressed everyone with the way he bowled throughout the tournament. Whilst generating swing with the new ball is his forte, this year he has been excellent in the death overs as well.
He bowled those accurate yorkers and mixed them up with deceptive slower ones to keep the batsmen guessing.
Sandeep picked up 15 wickets in 14 matches at an impressive economy rate of 7.32. He was surely the pick of the bowlers from the beleaguered Punjab side and the young man deserves a place in this XI.
11. Adam Zampa
The 24-year-old Australian leg-spinner took the IPL 2016 by storm when he recorded the second best figures in the history of IPL. Zampa took 6 wickets for 19 runs as he completely bamboozled the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line-up with his guile and loop.
However, his heroics went in vain and his side lost that game. But the young leggie impressed everyone with his skills and he found an admirer in none other than the skipper MS Dhoni who was full of praise for him.
Zampa picked up 12 wickets in just 5 games at an impressive economy of 6.76. He somehow solved Pune’s problems of picking up wickets and one can bet that he will look to repeat his heroics next year as well.
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