Best XI Of Prominent Players Warming The Bench In IPL 2020 Thus Far

The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League [IPL] is in full swing, with almost every team having played at least five games thus far.

But, there are still quite a few prominent names, who due to the surplus options for a particular spot or because of the team combination, have still not featured in the 13th season of the lucrative league.

Here’s a look at the best xi of players warming bench thus far in IPL 2020:

Chris Gayle

Imagine an IPL season without the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle. Unfortunately, this has been the case in the ongoing season as Gayle finds himself warming the bench even as KXIP continues to suffer due to the lackluster form of Glenn Maxwell.

And, the fact that KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been brilliant form at the top of the order hasn’t helped Gayle’s cause thus far. Nevertheless, Anil Kumble revealed in an interview during KXIP’s last fixture against SRH that Gayle was slated to play before he was eventually ruled out due to food poisoning

We should see Gayle playing his opening game of the 2020 IPL in Punjab’s next fixture against KKR.

Ajinkya Rahane

Just like MI, Delhi Capitals picked former Rajasthan Royals captain as a backup option for the duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw.

Dhawan and Shaw have done brilliantly well as a pair thus far and it looks highly likely that Rahane will be forced to warm the bench unless one of the openers gets injured.

Tom Banton

With the likes of Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Pat Cummins in the set-up, it was always going to be hard for Tom Banton to find a place in the starting XI.

And, with Rahul Tripathi stepping up as an opener in the last game, it looks highly unlikely that we will see the England and Somerset swashbuckler in IPL 2020.

Alex Carey [WK]

Alex Carey came into the IPL riding on a brilliant match-winning hundred against England.

But with Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer taking up two overseas batting spots, Carey is yet to make his appearance in the IPL thus far.

However, the southpaw could come into the reckoning if DC opts for a like-to-like replacement with Hetmyer.

Mitchell Santner

With CSK opting for their Indian spin-bowling contingent- Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla- and the overseas slots taken up by Watson, Du Plessis, Sam Curran, and Dwayne Bravo, the likes of Mitchell Santner have been forced to warm the bench thus far.

Will that be the case throughout the IPL 2020? With MSD at the helm, you never know. But having said that, it looks increasingly difficult that Santner will find a place in the playing 11, given the balance of the side and the fact that Imran Tahir is still waiting in the wings.

Lockie Ferguson

With KKR placing faith in their Indian duo of Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, and the fact that the side already has four established overseas players- Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell- in the playing 11, it looks highly unlikely that Lockie Ferguson will get a game this season, unless the management decides to play him ahead of Pat Cummins.

Billy Stanlake

SunRisers Hyderabad would have been tempted to play the lanky pacer in Billy Stanlake after Bhuvneshwar Kumar was ruled out due to injury.

But that would have meant dropping Kane Williamson, a move that they can’t afford given their inexperienced middle-order.

Also, with the Indian pace contingent stepping up, SRH hasn’t really felt the need to turn to Stanlake.

Sandeep Lamichhane

Another T20 star who is yet to make his presence felt in the 2020 IPL is Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane. With Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marcus Stoinis, and Shimron Hetmyer taking up the overseas slots and DC already having enough spin bowling options in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, Lamichhane has been forced to warm the bench, and it looks increasingly unlikely that he will get game time in the ongoing season.

Nathan Coulter-Nile

With the likes of James Pattinson and Trent Boult doing really well for the Mumbai Indians, Nathan Coulter-Nile has been forced to warm the bench thus far after he missed out on the opening game of the season due to injury.

The Australian can, however, come back into reckoning in the latter half of the IPL if MI opts to rest one of Pattinson or Boult.

Mitchell McClenaghan

Mitchell McClanaghan has been a proven performer for MI over the years but the southpaw is yet to feature for the franchise thus far this season.

And, the fact that James Pattinson has made the most of his opportunities hasn’t helped his cause either. It will be interesting if and how the New Zealander finds his way into the starting XI.

Imran Tahir

Imagine being the leading wicket-taker of the last season and you still have to warm the bench. Well! That has been the case with the South African leg-spinner, who like Mitchell Santner, is yet to feature in the ongoing edition of the IPL.

That should, however, change, as the pitches start to get slow and sluggish at the backend of the tournament.

Also Read- IPL 2020: Five Costliest Batsmen Who Have Failed To Perform So Far

12th man- Chris Lynn

The Australian swashbuckler was picked by Mumbai Indians as a backup opener ahead of the 2020 season.

But with Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma forging a formidable pair at the top, Lynn has thus far warm the bench and it could well be the same for him for the entirety of the season unless De Kock gets injured.