IPL 2019: Best Uncapped XI this season

IPL 2019 was a thoroughly entertaining one but failed in its basic goal, the promotion of young players. The league saw very few uncapped players take part and when compared to previous editions, this one was not even close to making an impact.

Teams like Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and even the Delhi Capitals who are a very young side didn't promote uncapped players. Even the Capitals and the Sunrisers can be pardoned but CSK have made it a habit of neglecting their youngsters and barring one forced appearance from Dhruv Shorey, no uncapped player was fielded by CSK.

If it weren't for the efforts of the Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians who fielded the maximum number of uncapped players, the whole purpose of the league would have been defeated.

With that said, picking an uncapped XI is going to be very tough with very less players given an opportunity to shine.

Now, let's take a look at the best uncapped XI this season, which is sadly not even close to the team which we had last year.

Note: The best performances with respect to wickets taken or runs scored is the basic criterion for selection. The team balance has also been taken into consideration.

Players in this XI were uncapped during the time of playing in the league and may have earned their cap now.

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Openers- Suryakumar Yadav (Captain) and Nitish Rana

Suryakumar Yadav is an exciting prospect. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20)

Most teams didn't support the idea of uncapped players keeping wickets as well as opening the batting and that's the reason why two middle-order batsmen are the openers of our sides.

Nitish Rana replaced Sunil Narine to open the innings for KKR in the first game against SRH and played a fine knock of 68 but never returned to that position. However, the batting all-rounder had a fine season as he scored 344 runs in 11 innings averaging 34.40 at a strike-rate of 146.38 and was a key part of the KKR middle order. He also picked up 3 wickets with the ball bowling his off-spin at an economy rate of 9.00.

Suryakumar Yadav did a brilliant job despite being pushed down to No.3 after a great outing at the top last season. He was instrumental especially in chases or on tough wickets where he batted the team out of trouble with great determination and skill. The Mumbaikar made 424 runs in 15 innings averaging a solid 32.61 and a strike-rate of 130.86 including a tremendous knock in Qualifier 1 to lead the side to the finals.

Middle Order- Ishan Kishan(WK), Sarfaraz Khan and Rahul Tripathi

Ishan Kishan batted well in the final. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20)

This season saw a huge decline in the participation and of all the teams, only Kings XI Punjab let an uncapped player keep wickets(Prabhsimran Singh). Even Ishan Kishan, who did a great job for Mumbai last season and had a good stint with India A and Jharkhand, was given only 7 opportunities.

Ishan Kishan scored 101 runs in 6 innings and that too, in high-pressure games because he was introduced towards the latter end of the season when the pressure to make it to the playoffs was high. His average of 16.83 and strike-rate of 101 would have been better if the side had backed him and let him play from the start of the tournament. Despite his poor stats, he is the only uncapped keeper who at least played more than a couple of matches.

Sarfaraz Khan is another huge talent who fell prey to Ravichandran Ashwin's rotation policy. After playing very well in the initial matches, Sarfaraz was suddenly dropped in favor of many players who themselves failed to hold on to their spot in the side. The ex-RCB prodigy scored 180 runs in 5 innings at an average of 45 and showed tremendous composure during tough situations.

Rahul Tripathi is another wasted talent from the RR side as the top order batsman was forced to bat deep in the middle order at No.6 or No.5. He can be very destructive as an opener but RR were hell-bent on making their capped players comfortable and forced their uncapped players to adjust. Tripathi scored 141 runs in 7 innings scoring one 50 and averaged 23.50 and could've done wonders had he batted up top.

All-Rounders- Riyan Parag and Jofra Archer

Riyan Parag. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20)

The Rajasthan Royals duo of Riyan Parag and Jofra Archer were handy all-rounders for the side.

Riyan Parag, whose specialty is inclined more towards batting became the youngest player to score a half-century in the IPL. The 17-year-old batted with great control and maturity even when some of the best players in the team failed and made 160 runs in just 5 innings averaging 32 scoring at a strike-rate of 126.98. He was decent with the ball and picked up 2 wickets at an economy of 8.64 bowling his crafty, unorthodox leg break.

Jofra Archer, meanwhile functioned mostly as a bowler and did a damn good job before he was called up by England for whom he made his international debut. Archer picked up 11 wickets in 11 games at an economy rate of 6.76 which is incredible for someone who bowls so many overs in the death. He is one of the most talented bowlers in the world and one to watch out for in the future. He also scored some crucial runs with the bat making 67 runs in 3 innings averaging 33.50 at a strike-rate of 167.50.

Spinners- Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20)

Leg-spinners were the most sought-after in this season and this was the only area where teams actually trusted uncapped players to do the job and two players stepped up to perform remarkably well.

Shreyas Gopal had an astounding season and was probably the best player for the Rajasthan Royals. He picked up 20 wickets this season including two scalps of Virat Kohli and two of AB De Villiers and this highlights his expertise with the ball. He was a menace to most batsmen unlucky enough to face him and his stringent economy rate of 7.22 shows that he was tough to get runs off. A real talent, he can be an option for the selectors to consider for the national team in the future.

Young Rahul Chahar grabbed his opportunity during Mayank Markande's illness and was tremendous with the ball for the Mumbai Indians. 'The Game-Changer of the Season' award winner, Chahar picked up 13 wickets in 13 matches at a good economy rate of 6.55.

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Pacers- Navdeep Saini and Prasidh Krishna

Navdeep Saini loading up. (Image Courtesy: IPLT20)

Navdeep Saini is one of the top pace bowling talents in India, currently and he delivered a brilliant performance this season. Saini picked up 11 wickets in 13 games at an economy rate of 8.27 and if it weren't for some utter-sloppy fielding from RCB, the speedster would have easily gathered another 4-5 wickets.

Prasidh Krishna is another talent who has failed to deliver this season. He bowled with tremendous pace but was unable to pick up too many wickets this season. With only 4 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 9.34, you might not expect him being on the list but the usage of uncapped players by teams is so low that even a player with poor stats by him makes it to the best XI.