Getting signed by the IPL franchises in the auction is a huge thing for any cricketer, but not everyone, who gets signed, gets playing opportunities in the tournament as well.
There are a number of players who go through the entire tournament without getting a single playing opportunity and it might happen with some players in the upcoming IPL as well.
Here are the 5 players who might not get into the playing XI of their respective teams in IPL 2020 –
Rahul Tewatia
Rajasthan Royals have traded in Tewatia and Mayank Markande as the two additional leg-spinners in their squad and they already have Shreyas Gopal as their first choice leg-spinner.
Going with two leg spinners in a T20 game is always a bit of a risk, but even if Rajasthan goes with two leg spinners, Markande is likely to be the second choice leggie along with Gopal who is a certainty in the Rajasthan XI anyway.
It seems difficult for Tewatia to get any game time in IPL 2020.
Karn Sharma
Karn Sharma is another one who might have to sit out because his team CSK already has too many world-class spinners.
Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja are the automatic picks in the CSK XI and Harbhajan Singh often plays as well because he is an off-spinner and hence, adds a bit variety to the spin attack.
If the opposition team has too many right-handers and CSK opts to go with two leg spinners, it will be difficult to overlook the new signing Piyush Chawla because of his experience.
Karn is now fourth in the pecking order and might not get a playing opportunity in IPL 2020 at all.
Jayant Yadav
Mumbai Indians generally like to go with a combination of 3 fast bowlers and 2 spinners. While Krunal Pandya is one of the spinners who also bats at no. 7, the other one is Rahul Chahar who is a leggie and takes the ball away from the right-handers.
Unless and until the pitch is a rank turner where the Mumbai management believes that the spinners will call the shots, they are not going to change their combination and play an extra spinner.
Jayant, most likely, will have to warm the bench in most of the games.
Siddhesh Lad
Siddhesh Lad has probably been picked as a back-up opener by KKR, but they already have too many top-order batsmen in the squad.
Tom Banton and Sunil Narine are expected to open the batting and in case there is an injury, Shubman Gill and Nikhil Naik can bat at the top of the order too.
Lad is someone who is not quite a dasher and KKR is a team that likes to play an attacking brand of cricket. It doesn’t seem as if Lad will have too much of a role to play for KKR this season.
Monu Kumar
Monu Kumar has been a part of the CSK squad for the last couple of years, but he has not played a single game in the IPL yet.
Monu is very low in the pecking order of the fast bowlers at CSK. While Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, and Shardul Thakur are the first three choices, Josh Hazlewood and KM Asif are the back-ups in the squad.
Monu might again have to spend an entire IPL season without playing a game.
