Seven players that fans will miss in IPL 2022

The 15th edition of Tata IPL starts on March 26, 2022. This time, the contest is going to be more interesting as two new teams; Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT) will be in the battle. There will be a total of 74 matches in the tournament. Each team will have 14 matches.

The tournament over the years has been graced by players whose names have become synonymous with the tournament. Be it MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, these players have made a mark for themselves in IPL 2022. Fortunately, these players will be playing the tournament in 2022 also.

But for some players, the story is not the same. Though these players graced the tournament last year, they will not be on the ground this year. The fans are ought to miss them:

Here are seven such players:

1. AB DE VILLERS

Royal Challengers Bengaluru heartthrob AB De Villiers will not be playing the tournament in 2022. The go-to-man for Virat Kohli in the team was loved by the fans.

The power-back hitter was known for his hitting prowess who would give bowlers a run for their money. For example, the phenomenal hitting against his own South African teammate, Dale Steyn in 2014 is remembered by the fans even today.

He was sure to be retained by the RCB squad ahead of the mega auction. But the player announced retirement in November 2021. He had said that the bubble travelling had affected his zest for the game. Also, his performance in 2021 in IPL was not that great. He had scored 313 runs in 15 games at an average of 31.3. This was his lowest since 2017.

Thereby the South African batter thought it’s better to retire. But for an ardent RCB fan, winning the trophy with AB will remain an unaccomplished dream. Something, which even AB might regret when he looks back on his IPL days.

2. CHRIS GAYLE

The Jamaican hitter was the most explosive batsman in the history of IPL. Chris Gayle for reasons unknown decided to opt out of IPL 2022. And there are chances that he may never return to the game.

Gayle started his innings in IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), then moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and then Punjab Kings.

Gayle also has the highest score of 175 against the Pune Warriors India (now defunct) team in 2013.

3. SURESH RAINA

Suresh Raina went unsold in the IPL 2022 auctions. This was the biggest shock of IPL 2022 auctions. Raina who was closely associated with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and captain MS Dhoni was expected to be picked up by the CSK franchise. But this did not happen.

The base price of Raina was Rs 2 crore which might have made it difficult for the franchises to bid for him. Also, his performance in 2021 was not at par with his own expectations.  In 2021, he played 12 matches where he scored a total of 383 runs at an average of 17.77.

Be that as it may, the player will be missed by the CSK fans terribly this time. In fact, many fans of Raina had expressed anger against MS Dhoni for leaving Raina out of the squad.

4. EOIN MORGAN

England’s star player to everyone’s surprise went unsold on both days of the auction. Morgan had a spectacular season with KKR in 2021 where he led a struggling team to the finals in the second leg of IPL. But after KKR didn’t retain him ahead of the auctions, it was expected that he would not be taken back by the team.

Morgan’s base price was Rs 2 crore which was another reason why teams didn’t go for him. His performance in KKR last season was also a big reason for the teams not picking him.  In 2021, he had a poor show with the bat as he scored just 129 runs averaging 11.72 runs per match with a strike rate of 98.47. In the entire tournament, Morgan could not even get a single half-century.

Nonetheless, the player will be missed by the fans in 2022. After all, he had taken KKR to finals after the team struggled for it in the past six years.

5. SHAKIB AL HASAN

The Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan is another player who will be missed by the fans in IPL 2022. The volatile all-rounder tops the ICC ODI’s rankings for the all-rounders and holds the second spot at ICC’s T20 rankings.

But Shakib’s dismal show with the bat and ball with KKR last season proved costly for him. In the eight matches he played, he could only score 48 and ended up with only 4 wickets. He was purchased at a price of Rs 3.2 crore. In 2022, his base price was Rs 2 crores.

6. STEVE SMITH

Australia’s hitting machine Steve Smith also couldn’t find any takers during the auctions this time. Smith had an average run with Delhi Capitals in 2021. In the eight matches he played, Smith scored 152 runs at an average of 25.33 and the strike rate at 112.59.

By his game, he is not an attacking player. But he still builds his innings on singles and doubles while getting some big shots in between the innings. Plus, his base price of Rs 2 crore could be another reason why teams didn’t bet on him.

7. IMRAN TAHIR

 The 42-year-old South African player’s age was a big reason why he wasn’t picked up by any franchise. Even in 2021, he got to play only one match for CSK in which he took two wickets. In the rest of the matches, he was at the dug-out.

His celebratory style after taking wickets was very popular among the fans. Indeed, he will be missed by the fans in IPL 2022.