3 Indian players who might be playing their last IPL in 2019

The twelfth season of Indian Premier League is less than four months away, and we have already witnessed the chopping and changes of the players that took place over the last few weeks.

The franchises have released few players, whilst they have retained few. Few of the players have been traded to other teams and it would be interesting to see the players that attract the buyers on the auction day.

While the date of the auction is yet to be confirmed, it is most likely to be held in the second or third week of December. While most of the teams have retained their core group of last year, they have released few players owing to different reasons.

IPL Auctions 2018 saw many veteran Indian cricketers being picked up by different franchises. While some of them managed to perform, others failed to do so and looked a shadow of their former self. The upcoming season could well be the last season for few veteran Indian players representing an IPL team.

In this article, let us have a look at 3 veteran players who might be playing their last IPL season in 2019

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#1 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh was released by the Kings franchise for the upcoming season

Yuvraj Singh is currently going through a rough patch in his career with no place in the national side as well as being dropped from Kings X1 Punjab side for which he played the last season.

The left-handed batsman had a poor IPL season earlier this year with only 65 runs from 6 games at a dismal average of 10.83. As a result of the poor form, Yuvraj was kept out for most of the season.

Yuvraj has attracted huge buys every season but couldn't live up to the expectations. This resulted in him being left out by the franchises on many occasions.

This time around he would go into the auctions and it would be interesting to see if he attracts any buyers. Also, with age and fitness not on his side, Yuvraj would need to perform well in the upcoming season as it would decide the fate of his cricketing career.

#2 Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir was released by the Delhi Daredevils management

Gautam Gambhir is regarded as one of the finest T20 players that India has ever produced. The left-handed batsman has played IPL since its inception and has achieved major success both as a batsman and as a skipper. The Delhi opener represented Delhi Daredevils from 2008-2010 before shifting to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011.

Gambhir captained Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011 to 2017 and won the IPL title twice (2012 and 2014). In IPL 2018 Auctions, Gambhir was picked up by Delhi Daredevils.

The stylish left-handed batsman started the 2018 season on a good note with a 50 in the opening game against Kings XI Punjab. However, team's disappointing performance and with his own form declining, he decided not to play and gave up the captaincy to Shreyas Iyer for the rest of the season.

Delhi Daredevils ended up at the last spot at the end of the season and this prompted the management to release a few players that included Gautam Gambhir. He would go into the auction pool for the next season as a player with lots of experience and it would be interesting to see if the veteran would attract any buyers for one more time.

#3 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh was retained by the CSK management for the upcoming season

Harbhajan Singh was one of the marquee players for Mumbai Indians since the inception of IPL. The off-spinner has picked up 134 wickets across all seasons of IPL and has been a match winner for his side.

Harbhajan had a disappointing IPL 2017 with just 8 wickets from 11 matches for Mumbai Indians. This prompted the Mumbai Indians franchise to release him and he was bought by Chennai Super Kings, who were making a comeback in IPL after a gap of 2 years.

Harbhajan was the front line spinner for Chennai Super Kings but couldn't quite set the stage on fire. In 12 IPL games for Chennai Super Kings, the off-spinner picked up just 7 wickets at a below-par average of 38.37. His best figures were 2-22 against Royal Challengers at the MCA stadium in Pune.

Fortunately, the off-spinner was retained by the Chennai Super Kings and this would be a do-or-die season for the veteran as another poor season could well see the end of his future in the Indian Premier League.