IPL 2019: 2 players whose absence in the remainder of the tournament will hurt their teams the most
The fight for the two remaining playoff spots in IPL 2019 has intensified in the last few days as only a handful of league matches are remaining now. Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals have already secured their spots in the playoffs, but the remaining teams are far from secure.
After their match against RR ended in no result, RCB became the first team to depart the tournament in the league stage. The fight is on between MI, SRH, RR, KKR and KXIP for the remaining two playoff spots.
MI are in the best position right now, as even if they win one of their two remaining matches they will qualify directly. As far as SRH are concerned, they are in fourth place on the points table and will qualify directly if they win their two remaining matches. They will still have a chance even if they lose one and win one match, but then their fate would depend on the results of other matches.
The other teams are all in a must-win situation right now.
The battle between all these teams will carry on throughout the upcoming week. And the one thing that is going to affect them uniformly is the departure of crucial international players.
Star players like Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer have already left their respective IPL teams to fulfill national duties. The list may increase in the near future as more international players are expected to leave the tournament to participate in the World Cup preparatory camps.
All the Australian players who are selected in the World Cup squad will depart soon, and they will be missed dearly by their franchises during the crucial matches. Only the players from South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan and West Indies will be available till the culmination of the tournament.
Here, let us have a look at two top players whose absence will hurt their teams the most:
#2 Steve Smith (RR)
Steven Smith has not had an outstanding season with the bat thus far but his captaincy has played an instrumental role in the resurgence of his's team fortunes after a poor start.
Smith was handed the reins after the team suffered consecutive losses under Ajinkya Rahane's leadership. The change worked as the team's form improved under Smith's leadership.
After being relieved from captaincy duties, Rahane has scored runs freely in the last few matches.
Smith has already played in his last match of the season and will miss the rest of the league matches. He played 10 matches this season and scored 319 runs at an average of 39.88
#1 David Warner (SRH)
Arguably the most consistent batsman in the history of the IPL, David Warner bid adieu to the season after scoring yet another half-century earlier this week. He has been the cornerstone of SRH's batting department since 2014.
Warner's astonishing record reinforces that fact; he has scored more than 500 runs in each of the last four seasons he has played for the franchise.
The Australian played 12 matches this season and scored 692 runs at an outstanding average of 69.2, including 8 fifties and 1 century. He currently holds the Orange Cap and is 172 runs ahead of second-placed KL Rahul.
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