IPL 2024 is done and dusted, with Kolkata Knight Riders becoming champions for the third time in the tournament’s history. KKR absolutely demolished the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final last night played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Interestingly, Kolkata did not even require the use of the Impact Player rule.
They could have brought in Nitish Rana as the Impact Player in the second innings, but the Knight Riders did not need it. A similar thing happened in Qualifier 1 as well. While Rana did get opportunities in the previous matches of IPL 2024, here’s a list of two such unlucky cricketers who were present in the list of Impact subs, but they never got a chance to play.
1. Glenn Phillips did not get a game for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024
Glenn Phillips is one of the rare cricketers in the world, who can contribute well as a batter, bowler, fielder and even a wicketkeeper. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad failed to find a way to fit him into their playing XI. He was present in the Impact Players list as well for the final, but the overseas quota rule did not allow Phillips to play.
In hindsight, it looks like SRH made a mistake by not picking Phillips over the likes of Aiden Markram, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Marco Jansen. Perhaps, the Kiwi star could have made a difference.
2. Jayant Yadav
Gujarat Titans signed Jayant Yadav in 2022 and retained him in 2023 and 2024. Yadav was not a regular member of the GT playing XI in 2022 and 2023, but he got selected whenever the conditions supported spinners. However, this year, Yadav did not get even a single opportunity to play.
Surprisingly, GT preferred to give young Manav Suthar a place in the match squad before Yadav. The veteran off-spinner watched the entire IPL season from the sidelines.
