5 benched IPL foreigners who deserve a place in the playing XI

#1 Moeen Ali - Royal Challengers Bangalore

Moeen Ali still hasn't played a game for RCB

He's not exactly the most sought-after T20 player around, but Moeen Ali knows his game well and can use it to good effect when he wants to. The left-hander, solid in Tests, can score at a fair clip in limited overs cricket, striking the ball at the rate of 130 in T20s.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have been struggling with problems of their own, so much so that an all-rounder like Colin de Grandhomme is in the playing XI but is not being given overs to bowl. The middle-order, inexperienced and out of balance, caves in at regular intervals, and in such a scenario, the stability of Ali can be brought to the fore.

With RCB top-heavy, the experience of Ali in the middle-order can be a soothing effect, and wily off-spin can be used to quieten the opposition batsmen in the middle-overs.