3 players who are unlucky to not settle into their team combination in IPL 2023
The motto of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is "Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi," which translates to "Where talent meets opportunity." It's safe to say that the cash-rich league has lived up to to its motto.
Since its inception in 2008, there have been numerous talented players who have been given an opportunity in the IPL. A number of them have made a name for themselves and gone on to represent their national teams as well.
In the ongoing 2023 edition, some extremely talented players have grabbed the opportunity, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Matheesha Pathirana, Naveen Ul Haq and Nehal Wadhera.
However, there are also a few players who, despite their talent, haven't gotten much game time due to their team's combinations. Here's a look at three such players:
#1 Dewald Brewis
South-African all-rounder Dewald Brevis is one of the most exciting talents in the game at the moment. In 44 T20 matches, he has scored 1055 runs at an average of 27.05 and a remarkable strike-rate of 141.80. Brewis has a high score of 162, which he made in just 57 deliveries for Titans in a domestic game.
Brewis made his IPL debut for MI in 2022 and featured in seven games in which he showed shades of his brilliance. He was retained by the franchise but hasn't played a single game so far in IPL 2023. This is due to MI's foreign player combination, which includes Cameron Green and Tim David.
Mumbai have opted to use the other two overseas slots to bolster their bowling line-up, which is one of the weakest this year. Hence, a sensational talent like Brewis has had to warm the bench.
#2 Suyash Prabhudessai
Suyash Prabhudessai, the 25-year-old batter who is a part of RCB, has a decent T20 record with a strike-rate of more than 130. RCB's middle-order has had a poor run in IPL 2023 and Prabhudessai would have expected to get more opportunities. He has featured in only five games for the franchise.
Unfortunately for him, RCB have had to turn to the likes of Anuj Rawat and Mahipal Lomror because of the presence of too many right-handers in the line-up. Moreover, he has been extremely unlucky to have been run-out on two occasions.
#3 Sikandar Raza
Sikandar Raza, the 37-year-old all-rounder from Zimbabwe, has played six games so far in IPL 2023, scoring 128 runs at a strike-rate of 140. He has played a couple of crucial innings this season but is still not a certainty in Punjab Kings' playing 11.
Raza was the player of the match in a game between PBKS and LSG but was dropped for the next game. He played a sensational cameo to take his team across the line against CSK but was again dropped for the subsequent game.
PBKS have preferred to play an overseas batter (Matthew Short/Bhanuka Rajapaksa) in addition to Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and an overseas quick (Kagiso Rabada/Nathan Ellis). Thus, Raza has missed out on selection at times.