The Indian Premier League has always been a tournament, where the players, who are not regularly in the Indian side, can showcase their abilities in the limelight. And the tenth edition was no different.
Even though India’s Champions Trophy squad was mostly selected on the players’ performance in domestic and international cricket, the likes of Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and so on would certainly want to send a message to the selectors through their performance in the IPL, year after year.
As IPL 10 comes to an end, with Mumbai Indians clinching a thrilling one-run victory over Rising Pune Supergiant in the final in Hyderabad on Sunday, here’s a look at the five performers of this season who missed a spot in India’s Champions Trophy squad.
1. Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina, who played his last ODI against South Africa in 2015, ensured that the selectors have an eye on him, with yet another spectacular performance in the IPL.
He finished as the fifth highest scorer in this season, with 442 runs in 14 matches. The Uttar Pradesh lad also notched three fifties in the tournament.
With 4,540 runs, he has gone past Virat Kohli to reclaim his place at the top of the run-getters list in IPL history.
Raina has been named as one of the stand-bys for the Champions Trophy along with Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur.
2. Gautam Gambhir
Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper Gautam Gambhir made a serious case for himself to return to the Indian side, with a splendid performance in the IPL.
With regular opener KL Rahul injured, Gambhir would have fancied his chances to make a comeback, but it was not to be.
The 35-year-old finished as the second highest run-getter in this season with 498 runs. The left-hand batsman scored four half-centuries in the tournament.
3. Robin Uthappa
Another Knight Rider, Robin Uthappa, seems to be out of the Indian selectors’ radar. The Karnataka lad sparked some fires on his comeback to the national side after he was picked up for the tour of Zimbabwe in 2015, but has not made it to the senior side ever since.
Nevertheless, the 31-year-old continues to grind it out at his IPL franchise. He finished as the tenth highest run-getter in this season with 388 runs.
He scored five half-centuries in the competition.
4. Jaydev Unadkat
The fast bowler from Gujarat was declared to have a excellent talent before he made his Test debut in 2010 against South Africa.
But after going wicket-less in the Test, Unadkat couldn’t play to his potential in the ODIs as well and was eventually dropped from the side in 2013.
But cut to 2017, the 25-year-old has reinvented himself. The pacer has got more tricks up his sleeve, such as the slower one and has become a thinking bowler.
Unadkat finished this IPL as the second highest run-getter with 24 wickets, only two behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
5. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant may not have been consistent in this IPL, but he has certainly shown that he is the player for the future.
The Delhi Daredevils batsman showed in a few games that he can strike the ball at will and single-handedly take his team to victory.
In the match against Gujarat Lions in Delhi, Pant smashed 97 runs off 43 balls, which helped his team record the second-highest chase in IPL history. Gujarat had posted 208/7 in their 20 overs.
The 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman finished the tournament as the 14th highest run-getter with 366 runs.
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