IPL history: Top 5 players underutilized by the franchises
When T20 came on to the scene, many experts had an opinion that the format is about hitting from ball one. But as seasons panned out the format grew in popularity and strategies started coming into it. With players coming together for only two months the support staff of IPL teams had an added responsibility to devise their own.
Although there is a mutually agreed unannounced window for IPL, some International cricket is still being played in the month of April-May. Hence many top stars would skip playing in the IPL. Also, with a limit on overseas players being applied in the squad and playing XI, teams have had second thoughts before buying a player.
Team combinations have also resulted in stars missing out from the playing XI. Players have been underutilized by franchises for reasons stated above and for other ones as well. Let us look at top 5 such players in the IPL history.
#5 David Miller
David Miller developed a reputation of a big hitter right from the day he made his debut as he could clear the boundary with ease. He is one of the very few players to have a career strike rate of over 100 after playing more than 100 innings in ODIs. Miller made a huge impact in IPL 2013 as he smashed a 38 ball 101* against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He became one of the mainstays of Kings XI Punjab after being retained before the big 2014 auctions. He formed a brilliant partnership with Glenn Maxwell and helped Punjab qualify for the finals. He was the leading run-scorer for them in 2013 and 2015 and hence was appointed as their captain in 2016.
But a poor season resulted in him being dropped mid-season. Despite boasting an impressive record, he has played only eight matches in the next two years. Although Punjab has failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last few years, the team management hasn't utilized this southpaw to his potential.