This year’s IPL has been one of the most interesting IPL seasons till now. There have been significant concerns due to this calendar year’s matches for many teams as big and important events are lined up around the IPL, such as the Ashes, The World Test Championship finals, the Asia Cup, and the important ICC ODI World Cup, which is also going to be held in India. Due to this, many cricketing boards, including the BCCI, have been shown serious concerns regarding their players who might get injured, and their fears have, to some extent, also come true as many players have missed this IPL entirely or have been injured midway through the season.
1. Kane Williamson
The New Zealand captain and batsman is a master of the game. Even though Kane Williamson had a bad run for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous season of the IPL, this year, he was picked up by the defending champions, the Gujarat Titans. Kane Williamson has a stellar IPL record and an orange cap. He also managed to take the Sunrisers Hyderabad to the finals of the year 2018. He injured himself in the very first match of the IPL season itself when he was fielding and tried to stop the ball at the boundary line.
2. Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings this season and is probably their highest bid this year. Ben Stokes is one of the best all-rounders in the game in any format and is also the current English captain. Stokes carried his leg injury when he came to play in the IPL. Stokes played the first few games but was ruled out due to his injury worsening, and as the Ashes and other vital events lined up, he could not continue to play further.
3. Jofra Archer
Jofra Archer was picked up by the Mumbai Indians last year when he was struggling with his injury, in order to replace Trent Boult. He came this year and was expected to complete the Mumbai Indians pace line-up alongside Jasprit Bumrah. This did not go according to plan, as both the pace bowlers were injured and Jofra Archer played some matches but was very expensive, and showed no sign of his level of skills.
4. KL Rahul
KL Rahul is the captain of the franchise, the Lucknow Super Giants. He injured himself in the later part of the tournament when he was attempting to chase after the ball, which was rushing towards the boundary. After some initial treatment, KL Rahul was taken out of the IPL and declared unfit to participate in the World Test Championship. The new captain of the Lucknow Super Giants is Krunal Pandya.
5. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah is undoubtedly one of the most essential bowlers in the current Indian bowling line-up. However, for the past couple of years, this critical and world-class bowler has been constantly struggling with injuries, which has resulted in him failing to attend the World Test Championship. Jasprit Bumrah has been part of the Mumbai Indians for a long time, and he still plays for them. He was expected to return and complete their pace attack alongside Jofra Archer, but struggling with injuries and questions on his fitness, and many other important events lined up in this calendar year, he missed the IPL.
6. Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer was performing and trying to secure the No. 4 mark for team India in white-ball cricket and was also captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, due to his injury to his lower back. He received this injury in the final test match against Australia. The BCCI took over the injury case and reportedly, due to massive cricket action in the upcoming events, ruled out Shreyas Iyer from the IPL and sent him overseas for surgery, resulting in 3 months of off-season cricket.
7. Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar is perhaps the only uncapped player whose injury concerns were taken seriously by any team. Patidar emerged as a new find for the Royal Challengers Bangalore when he scored a century and delivered impressive performances, especially in the important matches of 2022. Before the IPL, it was revealed that Rajat Patidar would not be taking part in the IPL due to injuries. This was a blow to RCB, as they have not yet been able to find a suitable replacement in the middle order for him.
8. Reese Topley
The English pace bowler was brought in by RCB as their main strike bowler, Josh Hazelwood, was about to miss almost the first half of the IPL. Reese Topley played a couple of games for Royal Challengers Bangalore but, due to injury concerns, was not able to play further in the tournament. Topley was looking good to perfectly fill in for Josh Hazelwood to strengthen their pace attack, but this injury came at a heavy blow for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
9. David Willey
David Willey, another prominent pace bowler for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who has been with the club since last year, is proving to be a suitable candidate for filling in as a middle-order batsman who can quickly change gears and an opening bowler who can handle the new ball. Willey even played in the first half of the IPL and delivered good bowling performances but was injured, and with the Ashes and other events upcoming, he flew back to England.
10. Rishabh Pant
Perhaps the most obvious foreseen loss to this year’s IPL edition was Rishabh Pant. It would not be wrong to say that Rishabh Pant would be the first player to be ruled out of this year’s IPL. Rishabh Pant is the captain of the Delhi Capitals, and since he met with an accident earlier this year that ruled him out for at least a year from playing competitive cricket and was ruled by the BCCI, He was seen in the stands for Delhi matches.
