5 players who could have been excellent IPL cricketers but could not achieve success

Indian Premier League is an unforgiving tournament for the players. There is a very narrow margin for error and for the foreigners, this is even finer. Hence, at times, we have seen some prominent names end up having a poor IPL career. On that note, in this article, we take a look at five players who could have been excellent IPL cricketers but could not achieve success.

The four slots in an IPL playing XI are very important to the squad. The management will expect these names to win matches on their own. However, due to a number of factors, some players who did well for their countries were not able to replicate the same form in IPL. Hence, they were dropped and never got a consistent run in IPL after that.

1) Andrew Flintoff

Matches: 3 || Runs: 62 || Wickets: 2

Andrew Flintoff is one of the players who could have been excellent IPL cricketers but could not achieve success. At IPL 2009 auctions, he was the joint-most expensive signing. Hence, there were a lot of expectations from the cricketer. However, the all-rounder was not able to set the stage on fire. He looked undercooked and could not impact the games for CSK. Hence, he did not get a chance later on in the tournament.

2) Martin Guptill

Matches: 13 || Runs: 270 || Strike Rate: 137

The Kiwi opener has represented teams such as Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, and Mumbai Indians in IPL. However, despite being one of the highest run-getters in T20Is, the player was not able to do well in IPL. Hence, he got dropped and although he played for different franchises, success in IPL did not come in his way. Although he could still execute a comeback, it seems very far at the moment.

3) Paul Collingwood

Matches: 8 || Runs: 204 || Wickets: 5

Paul Collingwood would have been an ideal finisher in an IPL playing XI. Add to this, he would have provided some useful overs of medium pace. However, apart from a few encounters, the former English skipper could not do well in IPL. Hence, he is also a part of this list of players who could have been excellent IPL cricketers but could not achieve success.

4) Ajantha Mendis

Matches: 10 || Wickets: 8 || Economy: 7.1

Mystery spinners are valuable in IPL. Ajantha Mendis was one of the first cricketers in this category. Although he did well for Sri Lanka, he could not repeat the same in IPL. Later, both for his country and in IPL, Ajantha's performances came down and was eventually dropped.

5) T Dilshan

Matches: 52 || Runs: 1153 || Wickets: 5

Sri Lanka's Dilshan is also one of the players who could have been excellent IPL cricketers but could not achieve success. He might have played more than 50 games but is hardly remembered for his performance in IPL. In the current era, versatile players like Dilshan would have been useful. However, the player could not do that often in IPL. Therefore, he is also on this list.