Five players that were almost overlooked but are currently winning games in the IPL 2023. Let us take a look at them.
Ajinkya Rahane (CSK)
In the past, he had trouble keeping up with T20 cricket. He was recently dismissed from India’s Test squad. The powerplay strike rate of 222.22 by Ajinkya Rahane in IPL 2023, however, is by far the greatest among players who have scored at least 100 runs in that portion of an IPL season.
He only achieved 133 runs in seven innings at an average of 19.00 and a strike rate of 103.90 in IPL 2022 because of a hamstring injury, but Chennai Super Kings paid his base price of INR 50 lakh to acquire him in the IPL 2023 auction. Although Rahane didn’t start for Super Kings in this IPL, he came off the bench when Moeen Ali was out with a stomach virus and frequently struck over the top against both pace and spin.
The Super Kings would have anticipated that Rahane would fill the void left by Robin Uthappa’s departure from Indian and international cricket. But Rahane has so far surpassed all expectations because of his sincere intentions and a sense of purpose.
While Moeen has frequently been placed in the slips by MS Dhoni, Rahane has been manning the hotspots in the outfield. At the Chinnaswamy Stadium, his incredible jump at the edge of the long-off boundary prevented Glenn Maxwell from hitting a six and helped the Super Kings score five runs. In the end, Royal Challengers hit 16 instead of 17 for the Super Kings, losing by eight runs.
Sandeep Sharma (RR)
Sandeep Sharma, who participated in every IPL season from 2013 to 2022, was not purchased at the most recent auction. However, Sandeep joined Rajasthan Royals as his replacement after Prasidh Krishna was forced to miss all of the IPL 2023 due to a stress fracture, and he has proven to be a dependable bowler both during the powerplay and towards the end of the innings.
Sandeep was tasked with defending 20 in the last over at Chepauk against Dhoni. He started the over with two wides and then gave up back-to-back sixes, but he maintained his composure to dismiss Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja with back-to-back yorkers. Sandeep had also aided the Royals’ 175-point defence by ejecting Ruturaj Gaikwad during the powerplay. After the game, Sandeep said that he had been hitting his yorkers out of the park, which may have been the reason Sanju Samson supported him over Kuldeep Sen, who can provide more pace and bounce, to bowl the last over to Dhoni.
Sandeep got crucial wickets of Shubhman Gill and David Miller after aiding Royals in breaking through CSK’s defences, paving the door for another away victory, this time against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.
Piyush Chawla (MI)
In 2022, Piyush Chawla received no attention at the mega auction. The 34-year-old was the final player to be purchased by Mumbai Indians for his basic price of 50 lahks before the accelerated rounds began in the next auction. Chawla presently has seven strikes in five games with an economy rate of 7.15, making him Mumbai’s leading wicket-taker this season.
He reversed the years against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, when he got 3 for 22, including the wickets of Rovman Powell and Manish Pandey. At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Chawla used his leg breaks and wrong’uns to destroy Sunrisers Hyderabad, sending their pursuit into disarray by taking the wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen.
Amit Sharma (LSG)
Amit Mishra had failed to sell in the IPL 2022 super auction, just like Chawla did. He received a gig this year, just like Chawla, and has once again shown that in the era of quick leg breaks and mysterious spin, there is still a place for classic fly and dip.
The oldest player at the auction, Mishra, 40, was purchased by the Lucknow Super Giants for his basic price of INR 50 lakh. At the Ekana stadium, Super Giants used him against Sunrisers in a black-soil turner. He finished with 2 for 23 from his four overs. If the Super Giants continue to employ black-soil pitches, he may be a regular player there. Additionally, since the Impact Player rule was implemented, he no longer needs to toil in the field like Rahane and can instead relax in the locker room after finishing his bowling shift.
Mohit Sharma (GT)
Mohit Sharma’s final season as an IPL regular prior to IPL 2023 was in 2018. Prior to it, he won the Purple Cap in 2014 and was a member of the India side that advanced to the ODI World Cup semifinals in 2015.
His career was thereafter devastated by injuries, but an IPL 2022 net-bowling spell with the eventual champion Gujarat Titans cleared the path for him to return. Mohit was purchased by Titans for their basic price of INR 50 lakh at the IPL 2023 auction after Titans coach Ashish Nehra, who had previously worked with Mohit at Super Kings, loved what he saw in the nets. After Yash Dayal was hit for a series of five consecutive sixes by Rinku Singh in the match’s decisive over, he was then added to the starting lineup in place of Shivam Mavi and R Sai Kishore.
Against Punjab Kings, Mohit made his comeback with in-the-pitch off-cutters and slower ones from the back of the hand that had earlier wowed Dhoni at both CSK and India. He won Player of the Match for his outstanding effort, allowing only 18 runs in his four overs while also taking the wickets of Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma. There are better comebacks than this.
