IPL 2019: 3 unsold players who could have helped KXIP qualify for the playoffs

Kings XI Punjab has been one of the most unsuccessful franchises in the Indian Premier League and this trend continued this season as well. Similar to 2018, they started their season on a positive note but had a woeful second half. Their batting depended heavily on KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, and their bowling depended on Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami.

They punched above their weight in the first half of the season, but, faltered in the second half. They were highly dependent on a few individuals and never performed as a. Some of the decisions taken by Ashwin as captain were questionable and giving Karun Nair only one game was an injustice.

They had a fragile middle order, leaked runs in the power play and at the death, and even struggled to score runs quickly in the first 6 and last 4 overs. Overall, they had several weaknesses and they would have wanted to draft in some of the unsold players.

Let us have a look at 3 unsold players who could have helped them qualify for the playoffs.

#3 Liam Dawson

Liam Dawson in action in the Royal London One Day Cup

Liam Dawson is a very handy athlete and he is the kind of player every captain wants. He can bat in the top 6 and can bowl 3-4 overs. He has been in excellent form in the ongoing Royal London One Day Cup in England. In the 50-over competition, he has scored runs at a strike rate of 106 and has a phenomenal average of 49. He has also picked up 15 wickets in 7 games. He was also seen in the Pakistan Super League.

He has picked up 110 wickets in 128 innings at a strike rate of 21.7 and has a brilliant economy rate of 7.32. He has an average of 19.21 and a strike rate of 115 in T20 cricket, but he is a much better batsman than what the stats suggest.

KXIP lacked solidity in their middle order and they played with only 5 bowling options on most days. This meant that they didn't have a part-time option, and whenever they went in someone like Mandeep Singh, they were punished. Liam Dawson could have batted for them at number 6. With him in the team, he would have provided KXIP with an additional bowling option, which would have been very useful for them.

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#2 Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel in action in the Royal London One Day Cup

Morne Morkel hasn't been a part of the IPL for quite a few years, and it surprises many as to why he isn't able to earn an IPL contract. He is a tall man and can make the batsman uncomfortable with the bounce he generates. He also has good pace and is still a very effective bowler. He has picked up 13 wickets in 6 games for Surrey in the Royal London One Day Cup and has looked threatening.

Hardus Viljoen and Andrew Tye weren't impressive for KXIP this season and conceded runs at over 9 runs per over. In fact, all their fast bowlers were quite expensive and having someone of Morkel's experience would have helped them. The pitch at Mohali would have offered him with bounce and that coupled with the big boundaries, would have made him a difficult bowler to handle.

He has picked up 190 wickets in 172 innings at a strike rate of 20.3 and has an economy rate of 7.55, which is impressive.

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#1 Ben Mcdermott

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The 24-year old Ben McDermott is a middle-order batsman and comes in at 4 or 5. He is an aggressive batsman and can be lethal towards the back end of an innings. Over the years, he has played some devastating knocks in the Big Bash, and his exploits have earned him a stint with the Australian team.

He has scored 756 runs in 40 innings at an average of 32.23 at a strike rate of 131.2. He exhibited great form for the Hobart Hurricanes this season and had an average of 37.6. This season, apart from his usual aggressive batting style, he also showed that he is capable of playing the anchor's role.

KXIP were poor at the death overs and had a poor run rate in that phase. In overs 17-20, they had a run rate of less than 10, which is unacceptable at this level. David Miller was out of form this season, and Nicholas Pooran never managed to last till the end. McDermott would have been a valuable addition to the squad as he is someone, who takes his time in the beginning and goes big at the end.

He doesn't throw away his wicket before the death overs and makes up for his slow starts at the end. KXIP were quite poor at the death and he could have been the difference between a victory and a loos in some of the games.

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