Top 5 players who are benched in IPL 2014

For many a reasons getting an IPL contract is more precious than anything else for cricketers these days. For a budding young cricketer, it gifts a chance to learn the tricks of the trade from the superstars he admired from close quarters and being a part of planning and strategising.It gives you that elusive opportunity which can prove to be make or break, depending on what you make out of it.Even to the aged/retired cricketers, it gives the satisfaction and pleasure of still playing competitive cricket and it helps them ease their way out of crickets fame and popularity. It also helps cricketers from smaller countries where cricket isnt too popular, whose players and its board have openly quoted many a times that playing in the IPL helps their financial stability.And if we look at the ones who missed out of a contract, it questions their capability and may hurt their confidence significantly, particularly if you are a regular in any side you play for at the domestic level. It has to be noted that players take social media as the platform to express their emotions when they go unsold under the hammer, as was in the case of Murali Kartik who took to twitter about how he felt dejected when he was neglected after the first day of auction:This world is a very very selfish place, have lost faith in people.However Subramaniyam Badrinath, the strong piller of Super Kings whenever a wicket or two fell early, was positive in taking the setback: Disappointed to be unsold..... but some lessons learnt and some oppourtunity to open a few new doors along the way.Glenn Maxwell enjoyed his luxurious Indian tour he could afford last season, spending his valuable million-doller time on the bench playing in just a meagre 3 matches. How a player should feel at that time? Be happy, as you are getting paid for a job without actually doing it? Or tell yourself that your game is not good enough?We look at the top 5 players who managed to impress the people at the auction table and for logical or illogical reasons, remain unpicked so far in this IPL 2014.

#5 Marchant de Lange

The 23-year-old bowler was mainly picked as a replacement for Lasith Malinga when he leaves for international duties, but was still kept on the bench for Krishmar Santokie. The Mumbai Indians might ask themselves why they picked three bowlers to replace one, as Josh Hazlewood is also vying for the same spot. The South African who much like Cummins can extract bounce and pace from the surface and made an excellent Test debut against the touring Sri Lankans with a 7-wicket haul.

He was pocketed for just Rs. 30 Lakhs.

#4 Brendan Taylor

The man who hails from Zimbabwe, has great talent which forced the Sunrisers Hyderabad take note of him. The seasoned campaigner at 28 years of age has been in fine form and has scored more than 2400 runs with a highest score of 101* at a good strike of 122.36.

The right-handed wicket-keeper batsman could bring the much needed stability in the batting order for the Sunrisers who rely heavily on David Warner to deliver every time.

With Darren Sammy taking over the captaincy at the Hyderabad based team, it gets much more difficult for the Zimbabwe skipper to make the playing XI.

#3 Thisara Perera

The Sri Lankan all-rounder who is known for giving the much needed finishing touches to the innings under pressure, has also seen warming the benches with the Kings XI Punjab who look all set to better their record in semi finals of the IPL.

With the settled combination working well, he has not been required so far. Having been part of Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the past, he might well add Sunrisers Hyderabad to his team tally without getting much playing time with any of these teams.

Notably, he was one of the only two Sri Lankans picked at the auction for 1.6 Crores and the lonely member representing the current Sri Lankan team while the other being the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan.

#2 Pat Cummins

The 21-year-old made a mark in his debut Test against South Africa at the Wanderes as a teenager, has been largely marked as the man to be leading many bowling attacks in the future for Australia. Picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the base price of 1 Crore, he is struggling to impress the captain and management above Morne Morkel who is decent in delievering what is needed, despite being expensive at times.

Known to deliver fiery spells in the shorter formats of the game, they might soon give him a game if Morkel’s form turns ugly.

#1 Shaun Marsh

The free-flowing stroke maker who was the winner of the Orange Cap in the inaugural season of the IPL has been a regular in the side at the top of the order for the Kings XI Punjab. Marsh has a staggering record of nearly 4000 Twenty-20 runs with an amazing average of 41.20 at a strike rate of 129.83.

Even though with the same franchise this season, the team so far has been not able to give the 30-year-old Australian a start, thanks the form of Glenn Maxwell who seems unstoppable, and the equally good contributions from the hard-hitting batsman David Miller. With George Bailey leading the side and the another foreign slot rightly given to the bowling front, there is absolutely no place for this attacking opener in this side who was picked up for 2.2 Crores.