5 most underrated players in the IPL

The Indian Premier League has always been a stage for domestic cricketers to showcase their talent and be in the spotlight for selection into the national team. Going by the trend that is seen in the last couple of years, those who perform well in the IPL are fast paced into the national squad.

Not one, but there have been many such cases lately. The inclusion of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Yuzvendra Chahal in team India are the three big examples of players who first established themselves in the IPL and were quick to cement their place in the national team.

While others have been in the spotlight after delivering breathtaking performance and got their dues, here are a few players who were never seen as T20 players in spite of performing consistently in the IPL and are ignored for selection in the international squad.

#5 Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay, one of India's best Test batsmen, has always lived up to the reputation of a Test player. Even after delivering multiple match-winning performances in the IPL, Vijay has never been seen as a limited overs specialist.

In the IPL, he has scored 2511 runs in 100 matches at a decent average of 26.43 and a strike rate of 123.39. Vijay has scored two hundreds in the league which is enough to define his capabilities as a T20 player.

In the forthcoming IPL season, Vijay will be playing for his former franchise, Chennai Super Kings, who bought him for Rs. 2 crore in the auction.

#4 R Vinay Kumar

R Vinay Kumar, the skipper of the Karnataka team, has been an extremely successful bowler in the domestic circuit. Kumar has been the ace bowler for Karnataka for many years now and has consistently delivered for his team.

Kumar's national career went downhill with the emergence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami who cemented there place in the Indian team. Vinay has been consistent in the IPL, too, over the years, though he has not got many chances in the previous two seasons.

Overall in the IPL, Kumar has taken 103 wickets playing in 103 matches at an economy of 8.29. He is placed eighth on the list of the all-time highest wicket-takers in the league.

In the upcoming season, Vinay Kumar will represent Kolkata Knight Riders and is slated to lead the pace attack with Mitchell Starc.

#3 Piyush Chawla

Piyush Chawla, one of India's most promising spinning talents, never got his due in international cricket but he has worked wonders in the domestic circuit. He was part of India's World Cup winning team but has been out of the scheme of selection since then.

With the emergence of impact spinners from the IPL itself, Chawla's international career was overshadowed, but he has continued to shine in the IPL over the years. He has been a dark horse for every team he has played in the league so far.

Surprisingly, Chawla is the fourth highest wicket-taker in the IPL, bagging 126 wickets in 129 matches. He has also been handy with the bat at times. Kolkata Knight Riders were very clever to use their RTM to retain him back in the auction.

#2 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane, the Mumbaikar, is one of India's ace batsman in Tests and ODIs. Despite having an above average performance in the IPL, he has never been seen as a T20 player, neither by the selectors nor by the fans.

The case of Ajinkya Rahane is a curious one. Although he has cemented his place in the Test squad, he has been in and out of India's ODI squad.

The Mumbaikar has finished in the top 10 on the list of highest run scorers in a single season on four occasions, and this speaks volumes about him as a T20 batsman. The 2015 season was his best season thus far, in which he scored 540 runs in 14 matches at an average of 49.09 (the best in the season). He finished second, only behind David Warner, to miss the orange cap by just 22 runs.

Overall in the IPL, Rahane has scored 3057 runs in 111 matches at an average of 33.59 and a strike rate of 120.59.

In the upcoming season, Rahane will be playing for Rajasthan Royals who retained him using their RTM card.

#1 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa, unquestionably, is the most underrated IPL player at present. Uthappa has consistently delivered in the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring close to 400 runs in each season he has played for them.

Uthappa, who made his debut for India in 2006 and who was part of the T20 World Cup winning squad in 2007, has been in and out of the Indian team over the years. He deserved to be picked in the team consistently, but due to lack of vulnerable spots in the lineup, he never got his dues.

In the IPL, Uthappa has scored 3735 runs playing in 149 matches at an average of 29.40 and a pretty decent strike rate of 131.79. He is also the sixth highest run scorer in the league.