IPL 2019: Top 5 foreign players who might not feature in the next season

With the ICC cricket World Cup scheduled to start right after the IPL 2019, the league stands to see a dearth of established names in the next season. Teams might want to prioritize fitness and not allow their key players to participate in the glitzy pan-Indian league. It is most likely that England and Australia could be among those international teams who will want to give adequate rest to their key players in order to have them in optimal shape for the big World Cup.

Another potential question is about the venue of the IPL. This question arises because India will be having their Lok Sabha elections in summer 2019. On the previous 2 occasions of the IPL and elections over-lapping, IPL was moved to a different country.

In 2009, the complete season of the Indian Premier League was held in South Africa, whereas in 2014, each team played their first 5 matches in the UAE. With UAE now serving as the home to Pakistan, and the World Cup to be held in England, these 2 venues seem quite unlikely. Also worth mentioning here is that there has been no particular announcement about IPL not happening in India next year.

Coming back to the availability of players, here is a look at the top 5 overseas players who might not feature in the 12th edition of the IPL.

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#5. Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins might not come to play the IPL

Pat Cummins is a 25-year-old Australian pacer. He is one of the Australian front-line pacers. Cummins is currently ranked 7 in the ICC Test Bowlers' Rankings. He is a part of the ODI setup for Australia, and will most probably travel to England for the World Cup in May 2019.

So, to reduce any injury scare, Australia might not allow Cummins to participate in the IPL, at least for the second half. As far as his IPL record is considered, he has featured in 2 outfits so far -- Delhi and Kolkata. He was bought by the Mumbai Indians in 2018, but he did not feature in a single game for the Mumbai franchise and Adam Milne was called in as replacement.

As for the 2019 season, Australian players are less likely to feature in the league, as the Australian Cricket Board has already stated.that they have decided to hold back most of its players for the World Cup. Hence, Mumbai Indians have released Cummins from the team for the upcoming season. Now what remains to be seen is if any franchise will show some interest in this young Aussie pacer and invest in him.

#4. Mitchell Starc

Starc will be missing his 4th consecutive IPL.

Mitchell Starc is another tall and lanky Aussie pacer. He is one of the most feared bowlers around the world. This 28-year-old left-arm fast bowler is capable of clocking 150 kmph consistently. He has had a injury-prone career so far and hence Australia will do the best it can to keep him fit for the World Cup. He is the leader of the big herd of pacers that Australia has. Starc last played IPL in 2015, after making his debut in 2014. He represented RCB in both these seasons.

In the 2018 season, he was a part of KKR but did not play in the league. After missing 3 consecutive years of IPL, Starc is most probably set to miss another season, as he will be resting for the 2019 World Cup in England. He is an important player and will play a big part in how far Australia will progress in the World Cup. Owing to the decision that Australian Board has made, KKR have included Starc in the list of players that are released.

#3. Jos Buttler

Buttler had a brilliant season with RR in 2018

Jos Buttler is a 28-year-old English wicket-keeper batsman. He made his IPL debut in 2016 with Mumbai Indians. He has had a good record in IPL so far. He was used as a lower middle order batsman in his debut season.

However, he opened the batting for the Mumbai Indians in the 2017 edition on quite a few occasions. He scored 272 runs in the 10 outings he had for MI in that year. Post that, he started opening the batting more often for England, and performed really well. Based on the solid opening stands the gun fielder he is, not to mention he keeps too, if needed, he was predicted to be one of the 2 RTM cards for the Mumbai Indians in 2018.

However, Mumbai had some other plans. MI chose to go with Pollard and Krunal Pandya for their 2 RTMs and surprised everyone. As a result of this, Jos Buttler was sold to Rajasthan Royals for 4.4Cr.

Buttler opened the innings for the Rajasthan Royals midway through the season and 2018 was his breakout season. He scored a total of 548 runs at an excellent average of above 54. He can be located in the list of retained players for the Rajasthan franchise, which is a spot he has rightfully earned.

However, the English board might be a little skeptical towards sending their key players to the IPL because they would like these players to have adequate rest before the World Cup at their home. So Jos Buttler might not be a part of the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.

#2. Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson has been the vice captain for SRH in Warner's presence

One in the list of the top 4 batsmen in modern day cricket, Kane Williamson is a top order batsman who captains New Zealand in all formats of the game. He is a young right-handed batsman who is known for his mindful batting, and the ability of controlling the pace of his innings.

He made his IPL debut in 2015 with Sunrisers Hyderabad, and has been a part of the Orange Army since then. He captained the Hyderabad side in 2018, in the absence of Australian opener David Warner. In his captaincy, Hyderabad reached the final and ended up only second best to CSK.

Among the 4 seasons he has played so far, 2018 was his best season, where he scored 735 runs in the 17 innings he played, at a very healthy average of above 52. Like the previous seasons, Williamson has been retained by SRH for this season too. However, Williamson might not be made available for selection by the NZ Board of Cricket, as they will want their captain to be fresh for the World Cup.

#1. Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes has been retained by the Royals

Ben Stokes is a English batting all-rounder, who has been around in the IPL for 2 years now. On both occasions, he has been the player who was sold for the highest price. In 2017, Stokes was a part of Rising Pune Supergiants, whereas, in 2018, Rajasthan bought him for a 12 and a half crores.

He was very effective in his debut season with Pune. Coming in to bat in the middle order, he scored 316 runs in 12 matches at an average of above 30, which also included a century.

However, his second season was not so great. Stokes could not justify his salary of 12.5 Cr when he amassed just about 200 runs in the 12 matches he played and could only account for 8 wickets.

This can be blamed on the things that happened outside the field, post the Champions Trophy in 2017. He was rusty and it was quite evident in the way he played. However, he has found his shape again and has started performing again. And considering that, the Royals have retained Stokes for the the next edition of the IPL.

However, Stokes is a very important player for England's chances at the World Cup. So, there is a high probability that he won't be available for playing in that blue jersey.