IPL 2019: One player from each team who might not get a single game
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for the first two weeks of Indian Premier League 2019, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on their bitter rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening encounter at Chepauk.
Over the years with the rise in popularity of the IPL among players, the cricket boards around the globe and the International Cricket Council have allotted an unofficial window for this million-dollar mega event to take place.
But this year marks a new challenge as India's general elections, the IPL, and the Cricket World Cup is taking place simultaneously in the time span of 3 months. Hence, a lot of changes have taken place in the scheduling of the league.
With few countries playing some International cricket during IPL and with individual strategies adopted by franchises, some of the biggest names in World Cricket might not play a single game despite being in their squad. On that note, let us look at one player from each team who might not get a single game in this IPL.
#1 Chennai Super Kings - Murali Vijay
The secret of the success of the Chennai Super Kings has been their core group and strong bench strength, along with a captain who doesn't believe in frequent changes. This is why some players almost always do not get a game.
Murali Vijay is one such player who might not play a single game in this IPL. 2018 saw a successful opening combo in Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson. While the former ended the tournament as CSK's leading run-scorer, the latter hit a scintillating century in the final to see his team through.
South African captain, Faf du Plessis stepped in the latter stages of the tournament at the top and won a game single-handedly. The last T20 game Murali Vijay played was in the last year's IPL which was his only game in 2018. So, it won't be a surprise if he continues to miss out.