One of the most surprising outcomes of the 2016 IPL player auction was the rejection of New Zealand opener Martin Guptill. He has been one of the best batsmen in limited overs cricket over the past year, but he found no takers in the Indian T20 league. However, his continued form in the World T20 will ensure one of the teams will pick him up, said cricket experts Akash Chopra and Mahela Jayawardene in an ESPNCricinfo video.
Also read: India vs Bangladesh, ICC T20 World Cup: Match Prediction, Weather Forecast, Pitch Report
Guptill’s 48-ball 80 powered New Zealand to a win over Pakistan on Tuesday, ensuring that his team became the first to qualify for the semi-finals. The knock would have also attracted the attention of some of the IPL franchises, said the former cricketers.
Asked about Guptill’s absence in the IPL, Manjrekar said, “Guptill is a proper player, not a T20 basher. There is an injury that is waiting to happen in the IPL and Guptill will be the quick replacement.”
Also read: India vs Bangladesh Head to Head in T20Is, Match Records and Facts
Jayawardene reacted to this with a joke emphasising how valuable Guptill is, saying, “Even if a fast bowler is injured, they could replace him with Guptill.”
"Guptill has done it over and over again. He gets a good starts in the first six overs and kicks on and make a 70-80. All other batsmen can bat around him. He does it very quickly, gives the team a good platform," Jayawardene also said.
Why Guptill was not picked in the auction; possible destinations
The two main reasons that were speculated to have worked against Guptill’s chances of being picked by the teams were that all the franchises have a set opening combination, and that most of Guptill’s special knocks had come in the southern continent, that his game is not suited to Indian conditions. Guptill has an ODI average of 38.37 from the 10 ODIs he has played in India.
Guptill now has 125 runs for the WT20 tournament at an average of 41.66, and a strike rate of 162.33. The Black Caps blaster has scored 377 runs at 53.86 since January in the Twenty20 international format.
Can Guptill still have a part to play in the tournament which starts from April 9? Some experts certainly think so, and his records back him up. His 30-ball 96 against Sri Lanka recently is an immortal knock in T20 history, and his 80 against Pakistan on Tuesday can qualify as his best knock yet on Indian soil.
The two teams which look like they can make the most of Guptill’s services are Rising Pune SuperGiants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. RPSG completely lack an opening pair. While it is expected that Ajinkya Rahane will be one of the openers for the new IPL team, the contenders for his opening partner are Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen and Steve Smith, none of whom are regular openers.
RCB have Chris Gayle manning one end of the pitch at the start of their innings, but lack a second opener. While Shane Watson may be called upon to do a job, it is likely that Virat Kohli will continue to be Gayle’s partner, as was the case in the 2015 season. However, in case Kohli wants to come at No.3, his usual role in T20Is, the Bangalore franchise can consider swooping upon Guptill as well.
Most vexingly for the IPL team owners, Guptill is not the only foreigner snubbed who has gone on a rampage at the World T20. Australia’s Usman Khawaja, similarly ignored for the IPL, has been his team’s best batsman in the tournament.
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