IPL 2021 has got underway and the first week of the tournament has entertained the fans a lot. The star cricketers like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers, KL Rahul, David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suresh Raina and many others are in action in IPL 2021. However, some players are at home due to personal reasons or because they are injured.
A majority of cricketers who opted out of IPL 2021 did so because of the quarantine rules and bio-bubble restrictions. Although IPL franchises pay the best money for their services, the players skipped the tournament to stay with their loved ones or to play cricket at home. On the other side, some cricketers were ready to play IPL 2021, but they got injured at the last moment.
In this article, we will look at the best XI of cricketers who missed IPL 2021 because of personal reasons or injury.
Openers – Joshua Philippe and Tom Banton (wk)
Overseas wicketkeeper batsmen generally warm the benches in IPL. Last year, Josh Philippe and Tom Banton earned IPL contracts. However, their teams benched them for most matches.
Philippe received another deal from the Royal Challengers Bangalore, but he skipped the season because of personal reasons. On the other side, Tom Banton did not register for the auction after KKR released him.
Middle Order – Joe Root (c), Shreyas Iyer (One of the star cricketers injured before IPL 2021) and Rinku Singh
Joe Root is another English player who decided against participating in the IPL Auction 2021. The English skipper was recently in India to play for the England cricket team. Root is the captain of this team.
Shreyas Iyer, one of the top cricketers of Delhi Capitals, got injured right before IPL 2021. The Delhi-based franchise elected Rishabh Pant as their new captain in Iyer’s absence. Rinku Singh suffered a knee injury, which compelled the Kolkata Knight Riders to sign Gurkeerat Singh Mann as the replacement.
All-rounders – Ben Stokes (One of the star cricketers injured during IPL 2021) and Mitchell Marsh
The two all-rounders of this XI will be England’s Ben Stokes and Australia’s Mitchell Marsh. Stokes had been in India for quite some time and he even joined the Rajasthan Royals squad. However, Stokes picked up an injury during his team’s first match of IPL 2021 versus the Punjab Kings.
Mitchell Marsh received another contract from the Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the all-rounder declined due to personal reasons. Jason Roy replaced him in the SRH squad.
Bowlers – Harry Gurney, Dale Steyn, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood
The star-studded pace attack of this unique XI comprises England’s Harry Gurney, South Africa’s Dale Steyn, Australia’s Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. The first three names skipped IPL 2021 because of personal reasons.
On the other side, Josh Hazlewood opted out at the last moment. The Chennai Super Kings then signed his compatriot Jason Behrendorff as the replacement. It is quite interesting to note that even a playing XI of the cricketers who got injured or skipped IPL 2021 because of personal reasons looks strong enough to compete in a T20 game.
