IPL 2016 was supposed to cheer up disappointed Indian fans still hurting over the World T20 semi-final loss to West Indies. While the cricket has at times been thrilling and exhilarating to watch, this tournament has been about injuries more than anything else.
Whether it was simply because of the sheer volume of cricket being played or just a happy coincidence, IPL 2016 has been struck by a spate of injuries, which has decimated several squads in the tournament.
So let us take a look at what an injured XI of players who have been ruled out of the IPL would look like. For this list, only players who have been ruled out of the entire tournament have been considered. The trio of Sunrisers Hyderabad players, including Kane Williamson Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra don't make the cut.
Unfortunately the XI is composed entirely of foreign players because no Indian player fits the criteria. So here is the IPL 2016 Injured XI:
Lendl Simmons (WK)
West Indies' hero in the World T20 semi-final against India, Lendl Simmons came into IPL 2016 on the back of a strong showing in the inaugural Pakistan Super League and was looking to continue his good form for the Mumbai Indians.
Unfortunately, all he could manage was just a solitary game, which happened to be the opening game of IPL 2016 against Rising Pune Supergiants, which MI lost. Afterwards, a lower back problem meant that he was ruled out of the rest of the tournament, leaving his side without one of their most consistent top-order batsmen.
Thankfully for MI, Rohit Sharma has stepped up in his absence and ensured that the replacement in Martin Guptill hasn't even been required to do too much.
Faf du Plessis
In the opening few matches when the Rising Pune Supergiants struggled to string together too many wins, one of the few bright sparks for the side, along with Ajinkya Rahane was Faf du Plessis. The South African T20I captain started the tournament in great form, scoring two fifties in his first three games for his new franchise.
Although his scoring wasn't as impressive in his next three, his partnership with Rahane was still crucial to Pune's chances of notching up a few more wins under their belt. Unfortunately for MS Dhoni, a broken finger meant that his IPL season came to an abrupt end after just six matches.
Shaun Marsh
After a sedate start in his first two IPL matches of the season, Shaun Marsh was just picking up form for Kings XI Punjab as he scored a fifty and two forties in the games preceding what turned out to be his last game of this year's IPL.
Although Marsh has only played 62 matches in eight years of the IPL, he has an incredible record in the tournament. He is one of the very few to average over 40 in the history of the tournament and he has scored over 2,000 runs at a strike rate in excess of 130.
While he was batting in his preferred position as opener, the 32-year-old was just starting to shine in his new role before he picked up a back injury ruled him out of the tournament just a day after his brother was ruled out of Pune's campaign.
Kevin Pietersen
When you look at players across the many domestic T20 tournaments that have cropped up around the globe and their performances over the past 12 months, you would struggle to find anyone in better form than Kevin Pietersen.
So it should come as little surprise that KP was supposed to be the mainstay of the Pune top order but a calf injury sustained while batting against Royal Challengers Bangalore meant that his tournament was cut short after just four games.
What made it worse for RPSG was not just that he was an experienced and explosive batsman but that was the first of a string of injuries that has decimated their side.
Steven Smith
Prior to the start of the tournament, if you had asked someone if Steven Smith would be a massive blow for Rising Pune Supergiants, the answer wouldn't have been unanimous. Mainly because of Smith's record in the format and the question marks over whether he would even make the starting XI.
Yet, one of the surprise performers of this year's IPL has been the Australian captain, who has shown that he has the ability to succeed as a T20 player as well and that it was only a matter of time before his record in the format improved.
Unfortunately for RPSG, their leading run-scorer at the time, had to head back to Australia with a wrist injury that ruled him out of the tournament.
Mitchell Marsh
After the 2016 IPL Auction, many thought that the Australian all-rounder would form the bedrock of the RPSG middle-order. Unfortunately for Mitchell Marsh, that didn't turn out to be the case at the start of the tournament thanks to a variety of reasons.
But just when it looked as though the 24-year-old was finding a bit of form and a spot was opening up in the XI thanks to the injuries to the top-order batsmen, Marsh became the latest casualty for his side.
A side strain meant that he became the third Rising Pune Supergiants player to be ruled out in the same week, after playing just three games and picking up four wickets in those games.
Mitchell Starc
When Royal Challengers Bangalore went all out to secure the services of Shane Watson in the IPL Auction 2016, it was largely in the hope that although Watson is an all-rounder who strengthens both their batting and bowling, Mitchell Starc would be back in time for the IPL.
Starc, who was retained by RCB prior to the auction hadn't played a single game in any format in 2016 after undergoing surgery on his right ankle, which had given him a fair share of problems in the recent past.
Unfortunately for RCB, the 26-year-old left armer, who was supposed to be fit for the play-offs hadn't recovered in time and was ruled out of the tournament.
John Hastings
Although John Hastings was previously associated with the Indian Premier League from his time with the Chennai Super Kings, he had only played a solitary game for the franchise. After deciding to put his name in the IPL ahead of playing another season with Durham, Hastings' fairytale 12 months continued as he was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders.
After not being on the national radar, a good season with Durham forced the 30-year-old fast bowler through the ranks quickly and he got his chance to represent Australia again and has been in the limited-overs set-up ever since.
Unfortunately for The Duke, after a picture perfect to the IPL with two wickets in his opening game, he injured his ankle during the warm-up ahead of their clash against Mumbai Indians on April 13 and was ruled out of the tournament.
Adam Milne
With Mitchell Starc not fit to play, RCB needed a fast bowler who could intimidate the opposition with speed and in Adam Milne, they thought they had acquired just the player that they needed.
After a fruitful World T20, where Milne was an integral part of the New Zealand side that reached the semi-final of the tournament, the 24-year-old fast bowler headed to the IPL high on confidence.
Unfortunately for the Kiwi speedster, he had to return back to New Zealand after just a solitary game with a torn hamstring.
Samuel Badree
Arguably one of the most integral parts of the World T20 winning West Indies side, Samuel Badree showed just why he is considered as one of the best T20 bowlers with 9 wickets in six games at the World T20.
That impressive showing in India only made the RCB's decision to buy him in the IPL Auction even more shrewd. Unfortunately for the Bangalore franchise, the leg spinner injured his shoulder during the World T20 final.
We was unable to recover in time and as a result, he was ruled out of the IPL without having played a match.
Lasith Malinga
High hopes were placed on Lasith Malinga as he made a comeback from injury in the Asia Cup in February, after a three-month hiatus but those hopes were misplaced as he was unable to recover completely from the knee injury.
Although he played a couple of the World T20 warm-up matches, he was ruled of the World T20 as he hadn't fully recovered from his injury and it was the same injury that ruled him out of this year's tournament without making a single appearance.
Thankfully for Mumbai, the form of Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah has meant his absence hasn't been felt as much as it otherwise would have been but there can be little doubt of the advantage the side would have with him present.
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