IPL 2018: Big-money players who are likely to miss out on a starting spot
The Indian Premier League 2018 season will feature 8 teams and 162 players. Like the previous editions, the motto as inscribed on the trophy is "Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi", or simply where talent meets opportunity.
However, with each team boasting a squad in excess of 20 (Kolkata Knight Riders being the exception with 19) it is impossible for all the players to be accommodated into the starting 11.
Several big names have failed to fit into the starting 11s on several occasions in the previous editions and the same could happen this season. Every year there are debates about whether much of the foreign talent will go to waste as a result of the overseas cap of 4 players in the starting 11.
With almost 8 overseas players in every team, some will have to make do with warming the benches. Here we run through a list of big-money signings who may miss out on a spot in their respective teams' starting line-up:
Jos Buttler/D'Arcy Short
In the Rajasthan set-up, Captain Steve Smith and the English all-rounder Ben Stokes are sure starters. With Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaydev Unadkat the only frontline Indian pacers, the team needs someone that can breathe fire with the ball. Enter 7.2 crore Jofra Archer. At just 22, Jofra is rapidly becoming the most exciting all-rounder in the limited overs format. It should come as no surprise that teams bid ferociously for the bowler who bowls north of 90 mph.
What Archer's presence also means is that just one of Jos Buttler, arguably England's best limited-overs player, and D'Arcy Short can make it to the starting 11. Just like how the Rajasthan team went from being a 'Moneyball' side to making 2 of the most expensive picks of the auction, Short has gone from being relatively unknown to the name on everyone's lips.
Having shelled out INR 4 crore for the Australian, Rajasthan will likely use Short at the top which means Sanju Samson will don the gloves. This would mean that Tripura sensation Rahul Tripathi who made 391 runs at a strike rate of 147 last season, would miss out on the opening spot along with the devastating Jos Buttler. Should Buttler play, he would force Rahul into the 11 as well. But can Rajasthan afford to leave out D'Arcy and his hefty price tag?