IPL 2019: Three players who might not be released despite their poor show

The 12th season of IPL ended on 12th May with Mumbai Indians defeating the Chennai Super Kings to claim their 4th title. The road to the play-offs was interesting and unpredictable as each team had an opportunity to make it to the last four. While teams like KXIP and KKR failed to make it to the top 4, Delhi Capitals surprised everyone by entering the play-offs.

On the other hand, CSK and MI continued their dominance in this edition. The Virat Kohli-led RCB had another disappointing season with just five wins. David Warner won the Orange Cap for most runs in this edition while Imran Tahir got the Purple Cap for most wickets.

Irrespective of every team’s performance, there were players who struggled to win games for their franchise. There were instances when the team needed their key player to step up, but that wasn’t the case. Even the most experienced Suresh Raina wasn’t impressive for CSK, just like Robin Uthappa for KKR.

Let us not disregard the fact that they have single-handedly won games for their team. It’s time to have a look at three players who might be retained despite their poor run in this IPL.

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#1 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu - Image Courtesy (BCCI/IPLT20.com)

Ambati Rayudu might have missed his flight to London, but his contribution to his franchise has always been immense. He made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2010. From then on until 2017, Rayudu was seen as an important asset to the batting line-up. In 114 matches, he amassed over 2400 runs for the franchise.

In the 2018 auctions, he was bought by CSK. He had an outstanding season in 2018, batting at the top of the order accumulating 602 runs in 16 matches. He scored three fifties and a century averaging 43 in that edition that led to their third title.

On the contrary, Rayudu had a below par 2019 IPL scoring just 282 runs in 17 matches. Every player has an off-season, so does Ambati Rayudu. It is highly likely that the franchise wouldn’t judge him for this performance and let him go. Rayudu has all the experience to make a comeback in the next edition.

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#2 Shimron Hetmyer

Shimron Hetmyer - Image Courtesy (BCCI/IPLT20.com)

Shimron Hetmyer had caught everyone’s eyes when he led the U-19 team to an emphatic victory in Bangladesh. He was immediately inducted into the Caribbean Premier League where he represented the Guyana Amazon Warriors. He has all the shots in the book and looks solid that has established him in the West Indies squad.

It was in 2019 IPL auctions, that he was bought by RCB to strengthen their middle order. He was unlucky to run himself out for a duck in a low scoring affair against CSK in Chennai. In the next three matches, he had scores of 5, 9, and 1. RCB, which was on a losing streak wanted to try a different combination and dropped him.

He had to wait until RCB’s last match which was played against SRH. Chasing 176, RCB lost Kohli and AB de Villiers early in the innings. Hetmyer joined Gurkeerat Singh in the middle and played a match winning 75 off just 47 deliveries. His success against the best bowling attack in the tournament spoke a lot about his ability. That knock should seal his spot for a another season at least.

#3 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye Image Courtesy (BCCI/IPLT20.com)

Anyone who follows Big Bash would remember this lad from Western Australia, who was outstanding with his knuckle balls. Yes, we are talking about Andrew Tye. Following his success in T20 leagues, he was taken into the Australian T20 side but was unable to seal his spot. On the other hand, he had an IPL contract with CSK in 2015 but was unlucky to not play a game.

In 2017, he made his debut for Gujarat Lions with a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick. In six matches, he captured 12 wickets at an unbelievable average of 11.75. In the 2018 auctions, he was auctioned to KXIP where he had the best season of his career. He went on to win the Purple Cap in 2018 for taking 24 wickets in 14 matches.

After this success in 2018, Tye led the attack in the 2019 edition. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to replicate his performance as he ended up with just 3 wickets in 6 matches. This shouldn’t worry about the team so much as Tye is a quick learner and can certainly help the team in 2020.