5 players who might have played their last IPL :- IPL is a global league and its beauty lies in the fact that it incorporates players irrespective of their age. Players’ form decide their fate and their hunger drives their performance. But there always comes a phase in every player’s career when he is not able to cope up with the wind and finds difficult to sustain the challenges and pressure generated by the game.
Thereby franchise, fans, followers and experts start to criticize the veterans. Everyone tends to forget the contributions he has made for his team. Thus franchises starts losing interest and are more than happy to release them.
On the contrary there may be another case when players find themselves underperforming. The veterans listen to their inner soul and realize what needs to be done for the betterment of the team. Age bars and fitness compel them to take big self-made decisions and they might take the exit path on their own.
Everything in the world has its own time frame. Here are 5 players who might have played their last this IPL season.
Shane Watson
What an all-rounder he has been for his side. He contributed in every departments of the game. This Aussie was one of the most valuable player in the IPL. But last one year has been a nightmare for this bloke. He has lost his form since the Big Bash League, the league of his country. The day is not too far away when Watto will retire from all competitive cricket. He has been part of the Rajasthan Royals since its inaugural season and later became part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer lead the Indian pace attack for a decade and now it’s time for him to move on. This season too he has owned the responsibility for Delhi Daredevils in the presence of inexperience group. Delhi has done well but could not qualify for the play-offs. He has represented the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore in the past.
Chris Gayle
This man has been the face of the Indian Premier League and without him the league will not be the league it has been so far. He brings such excitement and entertainment for his fans that his exclusion will create a void in the minds of the spectators.
Last one year has been the worst for Christopher Henry Gayle and his records in various leagues of the cricket world suggest that. This year for RCB he has looked good only in couple of matches. The Jamaican is the highest run getter in T20s (over 10000 runs) and has been a treat to watch over the years. The number of sixes he has hit in the Chinnaswamy is much more than a batsmen has hit in his career. Surely the Gaylestorm will be missed.
Ashish Nehra
It is quite evident that fitness is not on the side of this left-arm pacer. He has been an asset for his side over the last couple of years whether be it for his country or club. At 38 he is trying hard to beat fitness and frailty. IPL was the platform that gave Nehraji a renaissance and he proved his worth thereafter. It is only a matter of time now that the ace pacer will announce retirement. He has represented Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Super Kings, Pune Warriors India in the past.
Mitchell Johnson
This Aussie speedster was a fear factor for batsmen a few years back. His deadly deliveries made him the go-to man for his skipper. But this IPL season he has hardly played apart from a few games and his performance was not up to the mark. It will be very tough for the franchises to hold their trust on him for the upcoming season. He retired from all forms of international cricket in the year 2015. Represented Kings XI Punjab in the past and this year he was bought by the Mumbai Indians.