IPL 2018: The injured/unsold XI vs All time XI
IPL 2018 is only a week away and the excitement level is at a new high. Around 600 players were a part of the auction this year but only a few of them found a spot in any franchise.
There were a few players who will miss this season as they did not attract any bids, while a number of procured players will also miss out on this season due to injuries. The injury list includes the likes of Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Johnson and a few others.
A lot of players performed exceptionally in the first decade of the tournament and have made it to our all-time IPL XI. Who would make it to an unsold/injured IPL XI? Let us take a look at the competition between the two sides.
IPL All-Time XI: Chris Gayle, David Warner, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Yusuf Pathan, Dwayne Bravo, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Lasith Malinga
Which set of players will be able to take on this side? Let us have a look at the Unsold/Injured XI.
Openers
Martin Guptill
It came as a surprise to many when Martin Guptill was unsold in the IPL auction. Guptill has featured in the IPL for two teams. His IPL record for the Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab has been disappointing, but his overall T20 record has been good enough to fetch him an IPL contract.
Guptill has scored 5798 T20 runs in 199 matches at an average of 33.13. He has scored 3 centuries and a staggering 37 half centuries. The Kiwi opener is one of the best T20 players around the world and has the ability to attack early on in the innings. He can also rotate the strike when required.
The aggressive batsman will open the batting for this side against the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Lasith Malinga.
Hashim Amla
Hashim Amla is one of the most underrated IPL players. Amla has scored 577 IPL runs at an average of 44.38.
He is often criticized for his inability to bat aggressively but the South African has answered his critics with his bat, and the flamboyant batsman has a strike rate of 141.76 in the IPL.
He scored 420 runs in the 2017 edition, when he came in as a replacement for the injured Shaun Marsh. Amla scored two centuries and three fifties in ten matches. He will be the perfect partner to bat alongside Martin Guptill. The South African opener can attack the bowlers with sheer ease.
Amla and Guptill will have the responsibility of opening the innings for the Unsold XI.