5 Top-Notch Cricketers Who Have Not Yet Been Part Of The IPL

The IPL is as big as it gets every year for all the cricketers participating be it international or aspiring ones. Not only it has secured the lives of so many cricketers moving forward and a stepping stone to top-level cricket but also a platform for expressing themselves fearlessly. It has come for them as nothing less than a blessing.

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However, there do exist some huge names, who have not had the privilege to feature in the extravaganza. Such cricketers have gone unsold multiple times due to their underwhelming credentials in T20 cricket, a lower strike rate or ineffective in white-ball cricket. It might also be that they have not made themselves available for the same, concentrating on red-ball cricket wholly.

We take a look at five famous cricketers who have not had a taste of IPL:

James Anderson:

James Anderson became the first fast bowler last week to scale the record of 600 Test wickets, which came in his 156th Test appearance. James Anderson is a classical Test-match bowler, who has dedicated himself to red-ball cricket and vows to don the whites for England till next year. The 38-year old played his final ODI and T20I in 2015 and 2009 respectively.

When speaking of T20Is, the veteran has 18 wickets from 19 games at 30.66 with an economy rate of 7.84. While Anderson’s ability with the red ball remains unquestionable, he might not be as effective with the white one and in batting-friendly Indian wickets. Hence, he has not experienced IPL and is unlikely to moving forward.

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Joe Root:

English Test captain and Anderson’s teammate Joe Root is yet another cricketer, who hasn’t played in a single season of IPL. While Joe Root is not a slam-bang batsman, he is one of the most picturesque stroke players and is amongst the best currently. Root is also the highest run-getter in Tests amongst the active players.

The 29-year old remained a regular fixture in the national team’s T20 setup; however, a slightly lower strike rate and the emergence of more potent players sidelined him. Nevertheless, in a T20 line-up, Joe Root could be the kind of player that stabilises the innings when needed. Hence, the Yorkshire batsman could be a handy player for any IPL franchise.

Mushfiqur Rahim:

Mushfiqur Rahim is one of the greatest cricketers to come out of Bangladesh and a genuine match-winner for the bat. While he is small in size, he makes up for it through skilled hitting and finding the gaps proficiently. Rahim is also excellent with the gloves behind the stumps.

The 33-year old played a crucial role earlier this year in guiding Bangladesh to their first T20I victory against India by striking an unbeaten 60. Despite that, the veteran went unsold in this year’s IPL auction. However, Rahim declared he had no regrets of not playing in the IPL.

Stuart Broad:

Stuart Broad is the partner-in-crime of James Anderson as the pair has headlined England’s bowling attack for over a decade now in Tests, making them a formidable and successful one. Many might not remember, but Stuart Broad was about to play for the Kings XI Punjab in 2009 until an injury ruled out his chances.

The 34-year old has not garnered bids from any franchise since then as he turned his focus entirely into Test cricket. Despite being his nation’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, Broad has not played a game since 2014. Hence, the veteran seamer is also unlikely to get a bid from any IPL franchise moving forward. He crossed the landmark of 500 Test scalps recently as well.

Mohammad Shahzad:

Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad is amongst the powerful strikers of the ball from the Associate nations. The keeper-batsman maintains a strike rate of 134 in T20Is with a century to his name as well. In other T20 careers, Mohammad Shahzad has a hundred and 23 half-centuries under his belt.

As an opening batsman, the 33-year old goes after the bowlers from the first ball; however, he has not received any IPL contract yet. One of the deficiency might be his weight problem that may not facilitate swift running between the wickets and been a point of debate amongst different management regimes.

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