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There were several important players who were missing from action in IPL 2023 for various reasons. They are back this year
Shashank Kishore
Some of the biggest names in the game are returning to the IPL after being out of the tournament for varying periods of time. Here’s a check.
In December 2022, when Pant suffered serious injuries in a horrific car accident, there were doubts whether he would be able to play cricket again. Fourteen months later, his return as captain of the Delhi Capitals is a cause for celebration, and not just for the Capitals. But we will have to see how Pant copes with the demands of batting, captaincy and possibly wicketkeeping, in a rigorous IPL season after so much time away from the game.
He has had three knee ligament builds, skin grafts on his back and thighs, several stitches, therapy and months of rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru to get here.
Pant’s return will add firepower to the Capitals’ batting line-up, especially in the middle and death overs, phases in which they were the slowest scorers last season, when they finished second last. And if he has a promising IPL, a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad is also not out of the question.
After missing IPL 2023 due to a back injury, Bumrah faces the new season in top bowling form – taking 19 wickets in four Tests against England at an average of 16.89. However, he has not played a T20 since India’s tour of Ireland in August 2023, and his last white-ball match was the ODI World Cup final on November 19. Bumrah was given a break for the fourth Test of the series against England to manage his workload, which might also need monitoring while at Mumbai Indians as India move straight to the T20 World Cup a week after the final. of the IPL.
Iyer had to skip the last IPL due to a back injury and has since undergone surgery, and begins this season as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders after a difficult couple of months.
He had a stellar ODI World Cup in October and November, but not long after, Iyer lost his place in India’s T20I and Test teams, and then his central contract with BCCI after not playing in the Ranji Trophy despite not being in international service. He bounced back with a fluent 95 for Mumbai in the Ranji final but remained off the field for the last two days due to back pain.
Iyer needs a strong IPL season to reestablish himself.
Cummins opted out of IPL 2023, sacrificing his Rs 7.25 million (approximately US$874,000) salary with KKR in the process, so he could focus on international cricket in a busy year. He ended up leading Australia to the World Test Championship title, retained the Ashes in England and then won the ODI World Cup in India.
His stock skyrocketed and after being released by KKR, Cummins became the first player sold at an IPL auction for over Rs 20 crore. Sunrisers Hyderabad have since also named him captain for the 2024 season.
Cummins, however, has not had much success in the IPL over the years.
In his most recent season, 2022, he took seven wickets in five matches for KKR with an economy rate of 10.69. He has never before captained a team (country, state or franchise) in T20 cricket and faces the challenge of uniting a diverse dressing room and reviving the fortunes of the Sunrisers. Under different captains, David Warner, Kane Williamson and Aiden Markram, SRH finished last in 2021, eighth in 2022 and last again in 2023.
After missing the last eight seasons, Starc returns to the IPL as the most expensive player in its history: he was bought by KKR for 24.75 million rupees (approximately $2.98 million) after fierce bids from the Indians. Mumbai, the capitals and the titans of Gujarat.
But Starc comes to the IPL without much recent experience with the white ball. His last ODI was the 2023 World Cup final in November, and before playing two T20Is against New Zealand in February, his previous T20Is were during the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Starc has played just two IPL seasons previously, for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and 2015, and although he had entered the auction in 2018 (he was also bought by KKR then), he retired before the season. While Starc’s international pedigree is what earned him the record offer, he now has to deliver. He will begin the season against Cummins when KKR plays Sunrisers at Eden Gardens on March 23.
Williamson’s first season with the Titans lasted just one hour on the field. In the first match of the 2023 season against Chennai Super Kings, he jumped to the boundary for a catch, landed awkwardly, ruptured his ACL and only returned to international cricket during the ODI World Cup in October after recovering from knee surgery. .
The Titans need an experienced hand in the team as Shubman Gill prepares for his first season as IPL captain following Hardik Pandya’s trade to Mumbai Indians, and Williamson will be crucial.
Bairstow was unavailable for Punjab Kings in IPL 2023 while recovering from surgery after fracturing his leg in September 2022. He comes into this season after spending two months in India for a five-Test series, which culminated in his number 100 with whites for England. in Dharamsala.
He was explosive for the Kings in the 2022 season, scoring 253 runs at a strike rate of 144.57, although he averaged just 23. It remains to be seen if Bairstow features among the team’s four first-choice overseas players at the start of this season. as they attempt to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Shashank Kishore is Senior Deputy Editor at ESPNcricinfo