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The Indian Premier League has always been one of the biggest platforms for young players to showcase their talent to the cricketing world. It has been providing the raw talent an opportunity to play alongside and against established players, thus allowing them to learn the nuances of the game.
The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan have all come into the limelight with the help of the Indian T20 league and got fast-tracked into the national team.
Since its inception in 2008, the lucrative cricket tourney has witnessed numerous exceptionally talented cricketers. But the attention has always been on the bigwigs of the league. The followers of the league always wish to see the superstars of the game such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Rohit Sharma in action.
On the other hand, there have been some outstanding performers over the years, who, without getting much attention or limelight, have gone quietly about their business and yielded great returns for their franchises. So, let us take a look at an eleven of such players who despite performing consistently well, have not got their dues.
#1 Shaun Marsh
The former opener of the Kings XI Punjab team, Shaun Marsh, made the world take notice of his incredible batting skills in the inaugural edition of the IPL. He amassed 616 runs at an astonishing averag of 68.44 to become highest run-getter of the first edition of the IPL.
The southpaw has compiled 2477 runs at an average of almost 40 with the help of 20 half-centuries and a ton, and has always provided solid starts to KXIP. Despite being one of the consistent performers of KXIP, the 35-year-old has not given many chances in the last few seasons of IPL, owing to the exploits of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller.
The elder Marsh was even ignored by KXIP and all other franchises during the auctions of last season.
#2 Murali Vijay
The elegant Chennai Super Kings opener had been a mainstay of the franchise from 2010 to 2013 with more than 300 runs in each season. Later he represented Delhi Daredevils in 2014 and Kings XI Punjab in 2015 and 2016 before missing out in 2017 due to an injury in his right wrist. He was bought back by his home franchise, CSK, during the auctions of the last edition of the IPL for his base price of Rs. 2 Crores.
Despite proving his limited overs credentials with some consistent performances, the Tamil Nadu batsman has always been treated as a Test specialist and has certainly not got the credit he deserves in the T20 format.
The 34-year-old has decent figures in the tournament with 2523 runs in 101 innings at an average of 26.28 and a strike rate of 123.37. He also has 2 tons and 13 half-centuries to his name.
#3 Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Tirupati Rayudu, one of the prolific run-getters of the tournament, had mostly been under the shadows of the star-studded Mumbai Indians batting line-up for the first ten editions of the tournament. He has got some credit for his stellar performances during the last season playing as an opener for Chennai Super Kings. He was roped in by CSK for Rs. 2 Crores.
Opening the eleventh edition with Shane Watson, the right-hander amassed 601 runs in 16 innings at an outstanding average of 43.00 and a strike rate of nearly 150.
Someone who scored in excess of 3000 runs at an average of a touch below 30 and a more than a decent strike of over 130 in his IPL career, Rayudu is not as much lauded as the other star cricketers who have similar career stats in the tournament.
#4 Robin Uthappa
The leading run scorer of the 7th season of IPL, Robin Uthappa, has been a vital cog of the Kolkata Knight Riders' batting line up over the last 5 seasons with more than 350 runs each season. He has always given KKR solid platforms at the top of the order with his free-flowing stroke play.
After starting his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2008, the Karnataka player represented Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2009 to 2010 and Pune Warriors India from 2011 to 2013.
The 32-year-old is one of the few players who scored in excess of 4000 runs in the history of IPL but sadly he is not as much talked about as the other players. Thus far the right-hander has amassed 4129 runs at an average of 28.67 and a decent strike rate of 131.71. Uthappa is currently the 5th highest-run getter of the tournament.
#5 Faf du Plessis
The limited overs specialist from South Africa, Faf du Plessis, has grabbed all the attention of the cricketing world with his nonchalance under pressure during his debut season for Chennai Super Kings in 2012 IPL. With 398 runs in his debut season, du Plessis made quite an impression with his valuable contributions.
In no time the Proteas' superstar has become a reliable player for CSK and represented Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 and 2017 when CSK was banned.
The 34-year-old was a part of the triumphant Chennai Super Kings team in the last season. Though he missed a few games, he delivered some match-defining knocks when his team needed him the most.
Thus far, du Plessis has scored 1457 runs in the tournament in 59 innings at a decent average of 30.35 and a strike rate of 127.69 with the help of 9 half-centuries.
#6 JP Duminy
With his all-round skills, the former Delhi Daredevils batsman, JP Duminy, has been a valuable asset to his IPL franchise since his debut in 2009 with Mumbai Indians. In his ten years stint with IPL, Duminy has represented four franchises namely Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils.
Duminy is one of the few players whose IPL career average is around 40. Someone who goes very quietly about his business, the former Proteas skipper, has not attracted a lot of attention.
The 34-year-old has been roped in by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 1 Crore during the auctions of 2018 and he currently represents the same franchise.
Thus far the former Delhi skipper has piled up 2029 runs in 83 innings at an average of 39.78 and a strike rate of 124.02.
#7 Naman Ojha
Naman Ojha got his maiden IPL contract from Rajasthan Royals after his impressive show in the Indian limited-overs Domestic season of 2008-09. Ojha from Madhya Pradesh made his mark in no time by smashing 68 off 51 balls against Kings XI Punjab in his very second match.
After having a decent debut season in 2009, the Madhya Pradesh born cricketer amassed 377 runs at a decent average of 31.31 in 14 innings which included a match-winning knock of unbeaten 94 against Chennai Super Kings in the third season. The wicketkeeper-batsman later went on to represent Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Besides providing valuable contributions with the bat, the 35-year-old has also proved his worth behind the stumps with his exceptional wicket-keeping skills. Despite having all the ingredients Naman has not got much appreciation for his contributions.
Thus far the current Delhi Daredevils batsman has amassed 1554 runs in 113 innings at an average of nearly 21 and strike-rate of around 120 with the help of 6 half-centuries.
#8 Azhar Mahmood
Azhar Mahmood is a former international cricketer who represented Pakistan in Tests and ODIs. Starting his career as a medium pacer, Mahmood surprised one and all with his batting skills by smashing a couple of tons in his early international career.
Known for his exceptional bowling skills coupled with his batting prowess, Azhar Mahmood got his maiden IPL contract in 2012 from Kings XI Punjab to become the first Pakistani batsman to feature in IPL 5. He soon became a bowler who would chip in with regular wickets whenever needed to turn matches on their head. He impressed everyone by scoring 186 runs with the bat and picking up14 wickets in his maiden IPL season. Later the Pakistan all-rounder represented KKR in 2013 before rejoining KXIP in 2015.
In his considerably short IPL career of 23 matches, Azhar scored 388 runs at an average of 20 and scalped 29 wickets. These figures are by no mean underwhelming but not many remember Mahmood and his exploits in the Indian T20 league now.
#9 Amit Mishra
The seasoned campaigner Amit Mishra is one of the most successful bowlers in the history of IPL. With 146 wickets in 136 matches at an economy of 7.39 with the best of 5/17 against Deccan Chargers in his maiden IPL, the Delhi born bowler is the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament history.
After making his IPL debut with the Daredevils in the inaugural edition of the IPL, Mishra went on to represent Deccan Chargers as well as the Sunrisers Hyderabad before returning to his home franchise, Delhi Daredevils. With his classical leg-spin bowling, the experienced bowler has bailed his team out from many tricky situations. Mishra who likes to flight the ball, mostly relies on his stock delivery, the leg-break, besides the googly to deceive the batsman.
For all his consistent performances and his achievements over the years, Mishra is relatively underrated.
#10 Mohit Sharma
After making his first-class debut in the 2011-12 Indian domestic season for Haryana, Mohit Sharma made giant strides in his cricket career. He went on to pick 37 wickets in just 8 games at a strike-rate of 23.24 in his second Ranji season.
That performance earned him an IPL contract in 2013 from Chennai Super Kings. He immediately impressed with 20 wickets in 15 matches in IPL 2013.
Impressed by his performance in his maiden IPL season, CSK bought him again in 2014. After representing CSK for 3 consecutive seasons, Mohit was roped in by KXIP in 2016 for a whopping 6.5 Crore.
The medium pacer believes in keeping things simple. He just focuses on the perfect combination of line and length. Sharma's stock ball is his back-of-the-hand slower delivery which he uses effectively during the death overs to keep the batsmen in check.
Thus far the 30-year-old has picked up 90 wickets in 84 matches with his 4/14 against Mumbai Indians in 2014 being his best.
#11 Ashish Nehra
The former Indian cricketer, Ashish Nehra was one of the most under-appreciated cricketers during his time. Starting his career with Mumbai Indians in 2008, Nehra represented Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The Delhi bowler was ruled out of IPL-4 for the first few matches due to a fractured finger on his right hand.
After making a comeback, he was swapped up with Ross Taylor to play for Delhi Daredevils in 2013 IPL. Nehra was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 2 Crore in the 2014 IPL auctions. Nehra showed his full potential in IPL 8 by picking 22 wickets in 16 games to become the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
Ashish was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 5.5 Crore in 2016 auctions and went on to represent them in 2017 before announcing his retirement in the same year. He is currently acting as the bowling coach of RCB.
Nehra mustered 105 wickets in 88 games at an economy of 7.83 with his 4/10 against RCB being his best.
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