IPL 2019: 4 Players who might play their last IPL in 2019

The new year has started and the 12th season of the IPL is coming close. Every IPL season has something new and it shouldn’t be any different this year. First and foremost, there is still uncertainty over the location of the IPL.

There are general elections this year and so it would be difficult for the BCCI to conduct the whole season of the IPL in India. There are talks that the IPL may be held in South Africa or UAE but still, a clear decision hasn’t been made. Another problem revolving around the IPL is that 2019 is a World Cup Year.

The 2019 World Cup is just after the IPL and hence many overseas stars wouldn’t be available throughout the season. This gives a huge opportunity for the Indian youngsters to shine and make a name for themselves. The likes of Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, and Prithvi Shaw would be itching to do well this season.

Apart from the youngsters, there are some experienced veterans who would have to up their game for their respective franchises. Some of these veterans might as well be playing the biggest T20 league for the last time.

Let’s have a look at four veterans who might be playing their last IPL in 2019.

---

4. Imran Tahir (CSK)

Imran Tahir will turn 40 during the next IPL (Image credits: BCCI)

Imran Tahir went unnoticed in the last year’s IPL. He was part of the CSK team regularly at the start of the tournament and was performing relatively good. But later on CSK changed their team balance and he was dropped for the last half of the tournament. He is currently 39 years old and would turn 40 during this season of the IPL.

Even though he is a great limited-overs leg-spinner, there could be better young players who could be waiting in the wings. You can argue that age is just a number but there are other things as well which might not work in his favour.

He is definitely not the best fielder in the team and in T20s every run counts. Apart from that, there are huge chances that the 2019 World Cup might be his last professional tournament. It would be great for the Indian fans if he comes back for another season but at the moment it doesn’t seem so.

3. Yuvraj Singh (MI)

Yuvraj was picked by MI for just 1 CR

Yuvraj Singh, who used to go for huge money in the IPL auction, has been picked for his base price for the last two years. In 2018, he was with the Kings XI Punjab and it wasn’t a great reunion. He had one his worst seasons with the bat as he scored 65 runs in six innings at an average of 10.83 and a strike-rate of 89.04.

This kind of strike-rate is not associated with Yuvraj Singh. The 37-year-old left-hander hasn’t been at his best even in the domestic competitions. He is struggling to score runs on a consistent basis.

Obviously, it is difficult to make a comeback from a life-threatening disease and so it’s unfair to blame him. He tried his best and make no mistake he will always remain a champion player for India. Considering all this, the 2019 season can be his last season but as the saying goes, never write off a champion player.

2. Harbhajan Singh (CSK)

Harbhajan isn't playing domestic cricket for Punjab

Over the years, Harbhajan Singh has had a great time with the Mumbai Indians. He has won quite a few games for them. He didn’t have a good season with the Chennai Super Kings last year. The 38-year-old off-spinner picked up just seven wickets in thirteen games at an average of 38.57.

He was dropped in the final of the season for Karn Sharma. He is not even playing domestic cricket for Punjab which is quite surprising. He might just play the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy which is the T20 tournament to focus only on the shortest format. He is currently commentating for the India-Australia series in Hindi which maybe shows that he isn’t keen to extend his career in the longer formats.

But, it would be difficult for any player to be at his best if he hasn’t played for a long time. Once again if Harbhajan has a similar kind of season then it might be his last one as well.

1. Lasith Malinga (MI)

Lasith Malinga might retire after the 2019 World Cup

After ten full IPL seasons, Harsha Bhogle once said that Lasith Malinga is the most valuable player (MVP) of the IPL. He has won MI more matches than anyone else. Such was the dominance of the Sri Lankan fast bowler.

Whenever the MI captain searched for a bowler in a tight situation, Malinga always put his hand up. But over the last couple of years, his pace and form both have dipped. In the last auction to many people’s surprise Malinga went unsold. He worked as a bowling mentor with Mumbai Indians.

This year he came back into the auction as a player and was picked by his old team for two crores at his base price. Even though he is the current Sri Lankan white ball captain, he is going to hang his boots after some time. In all likelihood, he might bid adieu after the 2019 World Cup. If that is the case then we might see an IPL legend playing an IPL game for the last time in 2019.