6 deserving Indian players who are yet to play in the IPL

The Indian Premier League is one of the most competitive tournaments in the world. Owing to its humongous fan following, a good performance in IPL can make a player an instant star.

IPL has always been a breeding ground for young and budding cricketers from all around the world. However, the Indian players have been the biggest beneficiaries of the cash-rich league. While earning big bucks is always a plus for these players, the amount of exposure and experience of playing with international cricketers is what makes playing in the IPL special.

Moreover, a lot of these players, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant to name a few, got selected in the national side on the virtue of their IPL performances. But unfortunately, all domestic players haven't been that lucky.

Despite years of hard work and consistent performances in the domestic circuit, there are quite a few players who have missed out on playing in the IPL. While some of these players are picked up at the auction by the teams but did not get a game, others have been avoided in the auction for years.

We will look at 6 such unlucky players who deserved to play in the IPL but haven't got a chance yet.

#6 Rajneesh Gurbani

Gurbani appealing for a wicket

Rajneesh Gurbani came into limelight with a sensational Ranji season for Vidarbha in 2017-2018. Gurbani took 39 scalps in 6 matches, including a hat-trick in the finals and was instrumental in Vidarbha's maiden Ranji Trophy title.

Unfortunately, his stupendous show in the Ranji Trophy wasn't enough to earn him a place in the IPL. Gurbani went unsold at the 2018 auction. However, the medium pacer continued the good work and has become a regular in the India A side and recently played against New Zealand A.

#5 Baba Indrajith

Indrajith was appointed Tamil Nadu captain for Ranji Trophy 2018-19

Baba Indrajith for many years lived under the shadow of his much talked about twin brother, Baba Aparajith. However, in the last couple of years, he has made huge strides in domestic cricket. Indrajith has played some useful knocks for his state side, Tamil Nadu, in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

He boasts an average of over 48 in first-class and List-A cricket. Moreover, the 24-year-old has an impressive strike-rate of 95.68 in List A matches which is a testament of his ability to score quick runs when needed. The right-hand batsman had a fabulous Duleep Trophy 2018-19 where he was the leading run-scorer for India green.

He was named the captain of Tamil Nadu for the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy. Even though Indrajith has remained unsold at the IPL auction so far, his current form might finally earn him an IPL contract.

#4 Jalaj Saxena

Saxena has been part of RCB and Mumbai Indians squad

Jalaj Saxena is perhaps one of the most unlucky players not to have played a single IPL match so far. Saxena is a well-known face in the domestic circuit and has been one of the most consistent performers in the last decade.

The 31-year-old has won 4 BCCI awards in the last 4 years, which is a testimony of his success in domestic cricket. And it's not like Saxena has been completely away from the IPL limelight. He was bought by Mumbai Indians in 2013 and was with the side for two years without getting a single game.

In the consequent year, Saxena was picked up by RCB but again, he warmed the bench throughout the season. Things just got worse for the Indore born cricketer as he failed to get buyers in the last three auctions. With age not on his side, Saxena's dream of playing IPL might end up being unfulfilled.

#3 Baba Aparajith

Aparajith was snubbed at the 2018 IPL auction

Baba Aparajith shot into prominence with a magnificent all-round show for India Under 19 team at 2012 Under 19 World Cup. The all-rounder played a key role in India's title triumph with man-of-the-match performances in the quarter-final and semi-final. He took 5 wickets and scored 171 runs in the tournament.

By virtue of this performance, Aparajith was bought by Chennai Super Kings in 2013. After spending 3 years with CSK, without playing a single match, Aparajith was picked up by Rising Pune Supergiants at the 2016 auction. However, he did not get a single opportunity in the 2 years with the franchise. Aparajith was snubbed at the 2018 auction as he remained unsold.

Aparajith is technically sound with the bat and with his ability to bowl some off-spin bowling, he can be a valuable addition to any IPL side. Even though he hasn't done anything special in the last year, with so many international stars not being available for IPL 2019, the 24-year-old might get some buyers this time around.

#2 Navdeep Saini

Saini has been retained by RCB for IPL 2019

Indian fast bowlers were once considered to be the team's weak link and India struggled to find reliable pacers for years. But in the last 3-4 years, things have changed drastically as a barrage of young fast bowlers have emerged on the scene. Navdeep Saini is one of them.

The Delhi pacer is known for his lethal pace and has the ability to bowl consistently over 140 kmph. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils at the 2017 auction for 10 lakhs. Saini was Delhi's leading wicket-taker in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy with 34 wickets and 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy with 16 wickets.

The pace sensation raised quite a few eyebrows when he was bought by RCB at an eye-popping amount of 3 crores at the last auction. But to the surprise of many, he wasn't included in the playing XI despite RCB's horrendous show.

However, Saini was picked in the Indian Test team for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. RCB has retained Saini for IPL 2019 though and it remains to be seen whether he gets a game this season or not.

#1 Siddhesh Lad

Lad

has been a crisis-man for Mumbai

Siddhesh Lad has been a true servant of Mumbai cricket in the true sense. The middle-order batsman made his debut for Mumbai way back in the year 2013. Since then he has played some gritty and memorable innings for Mumbai.

The slightly-built right-hand batsman is known for his street-smartness and calmness. He has bailed out Mumbai from peculiar positions many a time and has become the backbone of the side in all formats. But surprisingly, he hasn't played a single IPL match so far.

Lad has been with the Mumbai Indians squad since 2015 but hasn't been able to breach a star-studded line-up so far. Mumbai Indians have retained the 26-year-old once again for IPL 2019. Hopefully, the franchise realizes the amount of talent that they have on the bench and Lad gets a much-deserved chance to showcase his talent on the big stage.