IPL 2017: One foreign player from each side who is surplus to requirements

The much awaited IPL auction finally took place on February 20^th at the Ritz Carlton in Bangalore, and we saw as many as 352 cricketers go under the hammer.

At the end of the day, fans were left surprised as only 66 players were sold, and there were a lot of international and Indian players with a lot of experience who went unsold.

With the squads all set now, the team management of each side would be wondering as to which players would take the field. As only four international players are allowed in the playing XI, there will always be one or more players from each side who would end up on the bench for the entire tournament.

In this article, we take a look at one foreign player from each IPL side who is a surplus to the team’s requirements.

#8 Sunrisers Hyderabad – Ben Laughlin

Ben Laughlin, the 34-year-old from Tasmania has a whole lot of experience under him playing in Australia’s domestic leagues, but with the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, and now Chris Jordan in the fray, Laughlin might not get a chance to shine in the tournament.

He had a great run with the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League this season as he picked up 9 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 14.88 and an incredible economy rate of 6.09. He would have probably gone on to finish on top of the list of highest wicket takers as well, but unfortunately, the Strikers did not qualify for the knockout stage.

#7 Kolkata Knight Riders – Darren Bravo

As expected, Dwayne Bravo’s half-brother Darren Bravo went unsold in the initial round of auction, but surprisingly, KKR picked him up for his base price at the second time of asking later in the day. The younger Bravo might have an incredible Test record for his country and is one of the most stable batsmen in the longer format of the game, but is not best suited for the T20 format, and has very little experience.

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He last played in a T20 international back in 2014 and has played a total of the 12 T20Is for the Caribbean outfit.

With the likes of Chris Lynn, Manish Pandey, and Suryakumar Yadav, KKR have a host of incredibly talented players to fill up their middle order and Bravo might have just earned himself a place on the bench for the entire tournament.

#6 Royal Challengers Bangalore – Billy Stanlake

Standing at 204 metres, this youngster from Queensland bowls at an average speed of 140 plus and was even called up for the ODI series against Pakistan earlier this year where he picked up one wicket in the two matches he played.

He played four matches for the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL this season and picked up 6 wickets at an average of 17.83 and economy rate of 6.97.

With RCB splurging their cash on England’s Tymal Mills this season, we could surely expect to see Mills to start all of their games, and with Shane Watson, and Samuel Badree in the bowling department as well, Stanlake might not see a game this season.

#5 Mumbai Indians – Nicholas Pooran

With England’s Jos Buttler and India’s very own Parthiv Patel taking up the position of the wicketkeeper-batsmen in the team, the decision to purchase West Indies’s Nicholas Pooran has surely come as a surprise to many.

He has a reasonable amount of experience behind him in the T20 format as he has played in various T20 tournaments around the world, the latest one being the Bangladesh Premier League.

With Mumbai Indians already having a host of international stars such as Buttler, Keiron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, and Mitchell Mccleneghan to pick in their playing XI, Pooran might not get a chance to shine in the IPL this season.

#4 Gujarat Lions – Andrew Tye

Another BBL star, Andrew Tye might find himself on the bench throughout the tournament due to the presence of a lot of foreign stars in the batting line-up for the Gujarat Lions. With Brendon Mccullum, Jason Roy, Aaron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, and James Faulkner in the squad, the Lions would most surely choose 4 out of the 6, and leave Tye out of the playing XI.

Tye was a part of the victorious Perth Scorchers side in this year’s BBL and picked up 10 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 27.40 and economy rate of 7.14.

He made his debut for the Australian cricket team’s T20 side last year and picked up 5 wickets in 5 matches since then at an average of 37.60 and a high economy rate of 10.25.

#3 Delhi Daredevils – Angelo Mathews

The Sri Lankan limited overs captain would most probably have to enjoy the IPL from the dugout this season. With the likes of Chris Morris, Carlos Brathwaite, and Corey Anderson in their side, it would be hard to accommodate Matthews’s expertise into the playing XI.

Mathews is not new to the IPL having played 46 matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders, the now defunct Pune Warriors India, and the Delhi Daredevils, which is his current side. He averages 23.86 with the bat and 37.88 with the ball.

#2 Rising Pune Supergiant – Lockie Ferguson

With plenty of foreigners already in the side, especially at the top order just like the Gujarat Lions, Lockie Ferguson might be an extra in the squad and might not get a chance to feature in the playing XI.

Ferguson made his debut for the Blackcaps against Australia last year and has not been too impressive as he picked up 8 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 50.87 and economy rate of 6.46. His domestic T20 bowling performances also have been quite average as he picked up 10 wickets in 18 matches at an economy rate of 8 plus.

With a lot of impressive Indian bowlers in the side, this 25-year-old from Auckland might have to wait until next year to get a game under his belt.

#1 Kings XI Punjab – Darren Sammy

Out of the 8 players on this list, the former West Indies captain has the most amount of experience in the shortest format of the game, but over the last year or so, has not been performing well at all. With a whole lot of experienced batsmen such as Glen Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Eoin Morgan, and David Miller in the Kings XI squad, Darren Sammy would have to provide his expertise off the field.

With the increasing number of problems between the West Indies cricket board and its players, Sammy too has faced a lot of issues, and thus finds himself playing in almost every single T20 tournament which occurs around the world.

He is currently taking part in the Pakistan Super League for the Peshawar Zalmi outfit. He has played a total of 238 matches and has scored 2888 runs at an average of 20.48 and has picked up 153 wickets as well at an economy rate of 7.82.