IPL 2016: 5 domestic stars who are not playing this season

The IPL is undoubtedly the biggest spectacle of all when it comes to Indian cricket, the most electrifying cricket league in the world is also a manifesting platform for the domestic players. When in 2008 the IPL took off, money poured in from every direction and it changed the fortune of the cricketers, not that the players were languishing without money earlier but the tournament certainly made them richer.Also Read: IPL 2016 Teams and full players listApart from money the stage of the IPL is big enough to get global recognition and, more importantly, good performances from players lead to national call-ups. The glorious money splashing league also works as a pool for talent. Also read: Delhi Daredevils IPL 2016 Schedule, Team Squad, and Venue DetailsThe ideal core of the league was to promote new talents in Indian cricket and hence the rule of only a maximum of four foreign cricketers available in any playing XI. Over the years, the IPL has been very successful in producing national cricketers who after showing good performances go on to represent Indian.The likes of Murugan Ashwin and Pawan Negi shocked everyone when they went for massive amounts in the IPL player auction 2016. But there are also some superstars of Indian domestic circuit who didn’t get any franchise despite brilliant displays in the domestic arena.Here are the five domestic stars who are not playing IPL 2016:

#5 Munaf Patel

Munaf Patel celebrates a wicket in the IPL.

This right-arm medium-fast bowler from Gujarat was an important member of 2011 World Cup winning Indian team. The former team India player was once touted as Indian’s most promising pacer.

Munaf made his debut for the Indian national team in 2006 and since then played 13 Tests, 70 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India and picked up 35, 86 and 4 wickets respectively. Apart from the international stage, he also performed consistently in the first-class arena.

In 66 first-class matches, he picked up 225 wickets at an average of 24.11. The Ikhar-born bowler made his IPL debut in 2008 for the Rajasthan Royals. In 15 matches that season he picked up 14 wickets which were instrumental in his team’s triumph.

Munaf stayed with Rajasthan till 2011 when he was signed by the Mumbai Indians in the IPL player auction. In a total of 61 IPL matches he picked up 73 wickets at an average of 22.47 and with a strike-rate of 17.98. At the age of 32, he is still performing well in the domestic circuit but has been overlooked by all the franchises in the auction.

#4 Subramaniam Badrinath

Badrinath during his Chennai Super Kings days.

This right-hand batsman from Tamil Nadu is one of the most prolific run-scorers in the history of Indian domestic circuit over the years. His stats speak for himself as he is considered one of the most unlucky Indian cricketers ever, who despite achieving so much in the domestic arena never got a big chance on the international stage.

In 136 first-class matches, he has scored 9778 runs at an average of 56.19 with the help of 31 hundred. The middle-order batsman represented India in only 2 Tests, 7 ODIs and 1 T20I scoring 63, 79 and 43 runs respectively which doesn’t justify his talent.

Badrinath made his debut in IPL in the inaugural season in 2008 for the Chennai Super kings and stayed with them till 2014 before moving to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He did not get the credit he should have got for his performances in the T20 league though he made his ODI debut just after the first IPL season in 2008.

In 137 domestic Twenty20 matches, he has scored 2132 runs at an average of 28.05 and with a strike-rate of 111.50. At the age of 35, he is not getting any younger but still is fit but is currently without any IPL team.

#3 Manoj Tiwari

Manoj Tiwari during his IPL days.

Despite scoring a brilliant century in his last ODI innings almost a year ago, this talented middle-order batsman from Bengal hasn’t played a single international match since then. Tiwari is also a prolific scorer in domestic cricket and scored plenty of runs this season.

In 9 Ranji Trophy matches, he has scored 649 runs at an average of 46.35 and in 6 Vijay Hazare Trophy matches he scored 302 runs at an average of 64.40. Despite these performances the right-handed batsman did not manage to attract any IPL franchise this term and is currently without any team.

In the first season of the IPL in 2008, he was signed by the Delhi Daredevils and scored 104 runs in 6 matches at an average of 26 and with and strike-rate of 122.35. In 2010, he went to the Kolkata Knight Riders and stayed there for four seasons before returning to his old franchise in 2014.

In a total of 78 IPL matches he has scored 1324 runs at an average of 28.78 and with a strike-rate of 113.25. His best season in IPL was in 2011 when he scored 259 runs in 13 matches for Kolkata at an average of 51.28 and with a strike-rate of 110.46.

#2 Pragyan Ojha

Ojha playing for the Mumbai Indians.

This slow left-arm orthodox spinner is the ninth highest wicket taker in the history of IPL and is a former team Indian player. He was instrumental in the Deccan Chargers’s triumph in the second edition of IPL which was held in South Africa.

Ojha has previously held the “purple cap” which marks the highest wicket taker of the tournament. He made his debut in the inaugural season of IPL for the Hyderabad-based franchise and played for them for four seasons before moving to the Mumbai Indians in 2012.

In a total of 92 IPL matches has picked up 89 wickets at an average of 26.20 and with an economy rate of 7.36, his career strike-rate is also an impressive 21.33. Ojha established himself as a leading spinner in the IPL and with the Indian team as he represented India in 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and 6 T20Is picking up 113, 21 and 10 wickets respectively.

But his form and performance began to decline after the 2014 edition as he only played a single game in the 2015 IPL season where he wasn’t able to impress his team management and did not get another chance. It is disheartening to see that one of the best bowlers in IPL history will not play in this year.

#1 Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL.

This right-handed batsman from Saurashtra is a permanent member of the Indian Test side and proved himself all around the world already. After the retirement of batting legend Rahul Dravid, Pujara took over his place at No. 3 and since then enjoyed many successes with the team which is currently the No. 1 Test side in the world.

In 32 Test matches, he has scored 2420 runs at an average of 47.25 which is very impressive but is yet to make a mark in the limited-overs format. In 5 ODIs he has scored only 51 runs at an average of 10.20 and with a strike-rate of 39.23.

Pujara made his IPL debut in 2010 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he played 10 matches that season scoring 122 runs at an average of 30.50 and with a strike-rate of 106.08. Though he is an established Test batsman and a prodigious scorer in the domestic circuit he never made it big in the IPL.

In a total of 30 IPL matches, he has scored 390 runs at an average of 20.52 and with a strike-rate of 99.74. A career strike-rate under 100 in a T20 league is considered to be poor and hence the most consistent run-scorer in the domestic circuit of India is currently without any IPL team.