IPL 2016: 5 surprising exclusions in IPL teams so far

The 9th edition of the high-profile Indian Premier League completes a week today. The franchise-based multi-team tournament has already witnessed some high voltage action and lots of drama in this action-packed one week.

All the teams are trying to get their team combination right as they seek for a balanced playing XI. However, there have been some notable exclusions in the playing XIs of the franchises. Proven performers like Shakib Al Hasan or Sreenath Aravind have warmed the bench so far as their respective franchises have played others instead of them.

We tried to have a look at 5 such surprise exclusions who haven’t played in the IPL so far. There were other names like Rishi Dhawan, David Wiese, Irfan Pathan and Albie Morkel too in our contention, but we have picked the following five keeping in mind their recent performances as well as their IPL record.

Here they are:

1. Corey Anderson

Corey is known for his big-hitting prowess and he can be useful with the ball too

The swashbuckling New Zealand all-rounder hasn’t yet found a place in the starting XI of the Mumbai Indians and West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been preferred over him. The talented Kiwi all-rounder recently played for New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 and he did a decent job with both bat and ball.

Anderson’s record for Mumbai Indians has also been impressive and he could only play 4 matches last year after an injury ruled him out of the tournament. His competition is with Kieron Pollard who has been a proven performer the franchise. 

However, Pollard hasn’t played cricket for a while and he hasn’t yet looked convincing at the tournament. Anderson who can bowl too can be given a chance to show his mettle in the tournament.