IPL 2018: 5 Indian players who are very unlucky not to play a single game

IPL allowed the franchises to have a maximum of 25 players in the squad, which included a maximum of 8 overseas players. It is always difficult for franchises to give chances to everyone in their squad because of the depth of the squad and the intensity of the competition.

IPL is definitely an experience for the young talents in Indian cricket even if they do not get opportunities to represent their franchise on the field. On the other hand, some of the deserving candidates were left out of the squad because of team combinations and various other factors.

On that note, let's have a look at the 5 Indian players who are very unlucky not to play a single game in IPL 2018

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#5 Khaleel Ahmed (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

The left-arm seamer from Rajasthan was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a huge Rs 3 crores in the 2018 auction. Khaleel Ahmed was a revelation in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament, 2017/18.

Khaleel Ahmed clocked speeds of 145+ in the tournament and finished as the second highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets. The 20-year-old was a part of the U19 team which reached the World Cup final in 2016 and has already spent two seasons with Delhi Daredevils.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has arguably the best pace attack in IPL 2018 with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, and T Natarajan. Khaleel is too good a talent to warm the bench for a long time.

#4 Navdeep Saini (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Navdeep Saini has been very impressive in the domestic circuit

Navdeep Saini was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 3 crores in the 2018 auction. Saini is one of the most promising talents in the domestic circuit right now.

The right arm medium pacer from Delhi played a lot under Gautam Gambhir and was also a part of the Delhi Daredevils team in IPL 2017, but did not get to play a single game. He picked up 34 wickets in the 2017/18 Ranji season and finished runners-up with Delhi.

He bowls consistently at 140 kph and has the knack of picking up wickets. Saini has picked up 44 wickets in 34 limited overs game for Delhi. He deserves a chance to make his IPL debut this season.

#3 Naman Ojha (Delhi Daredevils)

Ojha could ease Delhi's batting woes

Naman Ojha is not new to IPL. The wicket-keeper batsman from Madhya Pradesh has played more than 100 games in the Indian Premier League so far. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 1.4 crore in the 2018 auction.

The 34-year-old is yet to make an appearance in IPL 2018. Rishabh Pant is Delhi's first choice wicketkeeper, who is in stunning form this season. Daredevils' IPL season is a disaster with only 2 wins from 8 games. They need to win all of their remaining games to have any chance of qualifying for the playoffs.

With most of their batsmen struggling for form, Daredevils definitely needs to look at Naman Ojha as a batting option. He has the experience and skills to add value to Delhi.

#2 Sourabh Tiwary (Mumbai Indians)

Tiwary deserves an opportunity

IPL 2018 is Tiwary's 10th season in the Indian Premier League. The left-handed middle-order batsman from Jharkhand has played 81 games and scored more than 1000 runs in IPL so far.

He was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 80 lakh in the 2018 auction. The 28-year-old is yet to play a single game for his franchise this season. With Mumbai Indians' middle-order struggling for runs this season, Sourabh Tiwary definitely needs a look in.

He is a good batsman to play at no.4 or no.5. He can score runs quickly and is good against the spinners. He is really unlucky to spend a lot of time on the bench this season.

#1 Parthiv Patel (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Parthiv played a stellar role for Mumbai in IPL 2017

Parthiv Patel's absence from Royal Challengers Bangalore eleven is a mystery. With 119 matches, 2322 runs, and 10 fifties, he is definitely one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen in IPL history.

Not less than year ago, Parthiv scored 395 runs for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2017 at a strike rate of 135. He opened the batting for Mumbai and gave them some excellent starts throughout their title-winning 2017 campaign.

He was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 1.7 crore in the 2018 auction but was nowhere to be seen until now. RCS's fragile batting order needs a player like Parthiv and Kohli should turn to him quickly to save their season.