IPL 2019: One unsold player who might have made the difference for the bottom four teams

The twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League is nearing its conclusion. The four teams which qualified for the playoffs were Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajsthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kings XI Punjab were the teams which failed to qualify.

We witnessed immense competition among all the teams to be in the race for the playoffs, especially for the fourth spot in the points table. Anyone of the bottom four teams could have qualified with just only more victory. KKR and KXIP just needed better NRR than SRH to be at fourth spot. Bowling department was the major problem for all the teams which failed to do well in.

A lot of players remained unsold in the auctions. Could the disqualified teams have gone for any of the unsold players who might have helped them in the season? We have mentioned about one player for each of the franchise who might have turned the tables for them.

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#1 Chris Jordan (RCB)

Chris Jordan

Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore finished at the bottom of the points table with 11 points in this season. Death bowling has always been an issue for them. They lacked a partner for young sensation Navdeep Saini in death overs. With Saini being the find of this season, they had poor death bowlers like Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee and Mohammad Siraj.

One bowler who could partner Saini at death was Chris Jordan. The base price of Chris Jordan in this IPL season was INR 1 Crore. Chris Jordan is a fantastic T20 bowler who has an experience of playing T20 leagues in different countries of the world. In 144 T20 innings, the veteran English bowler has picked 154 wickets with an economy of less than 9 and strike rate around 18.

Jordan is also a lower order batsman who is capable of striking the ball very well. Born in Barbados, Chris Jordan is a regular bowler in the T20 team of England. Jordan has also previously been a part of IPL playing for RCB and SRH.

#2 Daniel Christian (RR)

Daniel Christian could have replaced the misfiring Stok

Like RCB, RR also finished with 11 points but at seventh position due to better NRR. Royals didn't have a good campaign this season. Their players with a high price tag like Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat failed to meet the expectations. Stokes miserably failed this season too after a poor IPL 2018, scoring only 123 runs in 9 matches and picking only 6 wickets.

Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian would have been a good pick as Stokes failed regularly. He has been playing T20 Cricket across the globe in the recent years. He had a great BBL season and was part of the champions side, Melbourne Renegades. Christian offers a good value to the team with both bat and ball. He scored 254 runs with the bat and picked 15 wickets in the eighth season of BBL.

#3 Adam Zampa (KXIP)

Adam Zampa

The captain of Kings XI Punjab, Ravichandran Ashwin had a great season as a bowler. But, KXIP lacked another spinner who could pick wickets in the middle overs. Murugan Ashwin was their second spinner for most of the season. He was pretty economical though he failed to pick wickets. Murugan managed to pick only 5 wickets in 10 matches.

Australian spinner Adam Zampa might have been a better pick for them. He was the second highest wicket taker in the last series against India. Zampa was very impressive in that series and also troubled Virat Kohli. Zampa picked 11 wickets in just 5 matches with an economy of less than 6.

Zampa was also decent in the last season of BBL. He could have been useful for KXIP as the ground at Mohali has big boundaries. He was the only Australian bowler who had an economy of less than 6 in the high scoring encounter played between India and Australia this year at Mohali.

#4 Kane Richardson (KKR)

Pakistan v Australia - ODI Series: Game 5

KKR finished at fifth position in the points table with 12 points. A better NRR than SRH would have awarded them place in the top four. Poor death bowling was one of the main reasons which led to KKR's downfall after a promising start in this IPL. KKR had picked least number of wickets in this IPL season. Andre Russell was the leading wicket taker for KKR. This shows that none of their front line bowlers stepped up for them.

The deck at their home, Eden Gardens offers good value to the pacers. So, Australian pacer Kane Richardson might have been a good pick for them. The 28 years-old Australian pacer was the leading wicket taker in the Big Bash League this year. Playing for BBL Champions Melbourne Renegades, Richardson picked 24 wickets averaging 17.71 with wonderful strike rate of 13.71 and economy of less than 8.

Richardson is a T20 specialist and has a good experience of playing different T20 leagues. In his short IPL career of 14 matches, he has picked 18 wickets.