The 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) recently concluded with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) becoming the champions by defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets (D/L method) in the final held at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The tournament was played for almost two months and during the period, ardent league watchers witnessed brilliant performances from some prominent cricketing superstars.
In the IPL 2023, Vijay Shankar became one of the notable names as he put up excellent batting shows for Gujarat Titans (GT) in the competition. Despite witnessing Shankar’s failure in the 2022 IPL season, the GT team management supported Shankar and in return, he delivered some fine performances to the side from his bat.
Not everyone was as lucky as Shankar as there were also a few players in the tournament who deserved to get a game during the season but didn’t get a opportunity to represent their sides.
Here are five players who didn’t get a single game during the entirety of IPL 2023:
5. R Sai Kishore
Gujarat Titans (GT) trusted Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed to reinforce their spin attack and in return, both players delivered superb match-winning spells to the side. The performance of both Afghanistan spinners blocked the entry of the left-arm spinner Sai Kishore into the playing XI.
In the 2022 IPL edition, Kishore played five matches for GT and took six wickets at an economy of 7.56. However, this year, he didn’t get any match for Titans due to the efficiency of Rashid and Noor. The 26-year-old is a known name in India's domestic cricket as he has won a lot of games for Tamil Nadu with his spin bowling.
So far in his domestic T20 career, Sai has taken 57 wickets for Tamil Nadu in 49 matches at an economy of 5.48. In the 2022 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he became the leading wicket-taker for Tamil Nadu, with eight wickets in six matches at a frugal economy of 4.13.
4. Shivam Mavi
At the 2023 IPL auction held in Kochi, Gujarat Titans (GT) acquired Shivam Mavi for INR 6 crore. In the competition, Mavi didn’t feature in any matches as the GT management trusted Mohit Sharma over him to reinforce the pace attack. Utlising his experience and skills, Mohit won a few matches for Gujarat with his extraordinary bowling displays.
However, Mavi could’ve been a better option than Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, and Joshua Little, who failed to bowl economically and provide a lot of wicket-taking spells for Titans in the 16th edition. In the last domestic season, Mavi looked excellent for Uttar Pradesh in white-ball tournaments such as Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
In SMAT 2022, the speedster powered Uttar Pradesh with 10 wickets in seven matches at an economy of 6.64. Taking his sensational form forward in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 24-year-old scalped 14 wickets in seven matches at an economy of 4.15. These numbers show that the youngster could’ve left an impact if GT had given him opportunities in the season.
3. Lungi Ngidi
Delhi Capitals (DC) had a dismal campaign in IPL 2023 as they ended up in the ninth position in the competition, with only five wins in 14 matches. Throughout the tournament, they were not up to the mark in all departments of the game, which led them to such a horrendous campaign. In the bowling department, they trusted South Africa speedster Anrich Nortje to lead the pace attack.
The dashing Proteas pacer played 10 matches for DC, in which he picked up 10 wickets at an economy of 9.10. After the 50th match of the tournament against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Nortje left the tournament for personal reasons. For their further matches, DC could’ve shown faith in Notje's compatriot Lungi Ngidi, who was the warming bench.
In international cricket, Ngidi is known for hunting batters with his variations. The 27-year-old has represented South Africa in 37 T20 International (T20I) matches till now, and has grabbed 60 wickets at an economy of 8.99. Relying on the South Africa speedster’s experience and T20 International numbers, Capitals should’ve tried Ngidi to reinforce their pace attack along with veterans Ishant Sharma and Mitchell Marsh.
2. Dewald Brevis
Dewald Brevis is known for his exceptional batting talent in the South African cricketing circle. In IPL 2022, he played seven matches for Mumbai Indians (MI), in which he hit 161 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 142.48. This year, he was expected to be seen in MI colours again as the youngster could’ve helped Mumbai with his batting talent.
Instead of including Brevis in the playing XI, MI showed faith in Cameron Green to bat at the top of the order. Fortunately, MI’s decision brought positive results as the Australia stalwart played some magnificent knocks to help MI clinch a few games comfortably. However, Green coming good for MI helped the franchise, it forced Brevis to warm the bench throughout the season.
The 20-year-old South African batting sensation hit headlines in 2022 after finishing as the highest run-getter in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022, with 506 runs. After a middling SA20, Brevis would have loved to contribute with the willow in hand for Mumbai but it wasn't meant to be.
1. Matthew Wade
For any T20 cricket fan, Matthew Wade is a familiar name as the left-handed batter has played a lot of swashbuckling knocks for Australia in the shortest format of the sport. His three sixes against Shaheen Afridi in the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final to snatch victory from Pakistan is something unforgettable for cricket fans.
In the 2023 IPL, Wade remained in the Gujarat Titans' (GT) camp throughout the tournament but didn’t appear in any game as GT assigned Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha the responsibility to open the innings for them. Both openers delivered desired results to the team with their batting in the competition and with that development, Wade’s entry into GT’s playing XI became something impossible.
Previously, in 2022, the Australia wicketkeeper batter played 10 games for GT, in which he racked up only 157 runs in 10 matches at a dismal strike rate of 113.77. However, after a few months, Australia toured India for a three-match T20 International series, and in the national colours, the veteran displayed his muscle power with his couple of solid knocks of unbeaten 45 off 21 and 43* off 20 in the first and second T20I respectively.
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