5 Players who might play their last IPL season: Sportsrush presents before you the names of five players who might play their last IPL.

With the IPL franchises releasing, swapping and trading players ahead of the IPL auction, fans are gearing up for another riveting season of the Indian Premier League. With the auction all set to happen on December 18 in Jaipur, it will portray a clear picture of how the team stack up ahead of the tournament.

In which will be the 12th edition of the IPL, it might be the third one in which some or all matches are played outside the country. It would be another development which the Indian fans would be looking forward to.

While every season of the IPL presents a considerable amount of opportunities for the rookie players, it also presents its share of challenges for the veteran who have been seen as being ignored in the past. While some franchises cite poor form as the reason behind dropping veteran players, the other believe it to be a natural decision believing that T20 is a young man’s game.

Whatever might be the reason for various franchises behind releasing their senior players, one thing is for sure that it will happen one more time after the next season of the IPL.

5 Players who might play their last IPL season next year

1) Gautam Gambhir – Having scored his 36th IPL half-century in the first match of the last season against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali, it was like the perfect way to commence a homecoming. Having said that, what followed wasn’t on the anticipated lines.

Gambhir failed to generate any sort of impact in the next five matches, scoring a total of 85 runs at an average of 17 and a strike rate of 96.59. The disadvantage of being Gautam Gambhir is that you stay true to yourself to the extent that you can end up dropping yourself from the team.

If Gambhir gets picked by any franchise this year, it might just be the last season for the 37-year old opening batsman.

2) Yuvraj Singh – One of India’s best limited-overs all-rounders, 36-year old Yuvraj finds himself without an IPL contract yet again. Much like his former Indian teammate in Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj had also received a homecoming after he was bought by Kings XI Punjab for INR 2 crore.

In the eight matches which Yuvraj played for the Kings XI last season, he scored 65 runs at an average of 10.83 and a strike rate of 89.04. Such paltry numbers had it in them for his franchise to release him and that is what eventually happened.

There is no hiding to the fact that Yuvraj might not even be picked for this year’s IPL. However, if he does, it might be the last one for another Indian southpaw.

3) Chris Gayle – The Universe Boss has entertained cricket fans all over the globe. Post becoming a regular in T20 leagues around the globe, Gayle’s 2.0 version was unstoppable, most of the times.

Despite playing for several teams in the T20 format, the 39-year old Gayle would surely be looking at his future prospects now. Like the above mentioned named in Gambhir and Yuvraj, Gayle doesn’t face the challenge of coming back into form.

In the 11 matches which Gayle played for Kings XI Punjab last year, he scored 368 runs at an average of 40.88 and a strike rate of 146.03, including one century and three half-centuries. Even with his rich returns, Gayle might become a victim of increasing age.

4) Brendon McCullum – With Royal Challengers Bangalore releasing him during the trading window, even Brendon McCullum faces the threat of remaining unsold in this year’s IPL auction. If he does get picked, it is all in likeliness that it will be his last year.

RCB had played McCullum in six matches last season, where he scored 127 runs at an average of 21.16 and a strike rate of 144.31. Playing for Kandahar Knights in the ongoing Afghanistan Premier League, McCullum has scored 158 runs in eight matches at an average of 19.75 and a strike rate of 105.33.

There is no hiding to the fact that McCullum is no more the force that he used to be. In such circumstances, one doesn’t expect him to continue playing as a freelancer across the world.

5) Harbhajan Singh – In the 13 matches which Harbhajan Singh played for Chennai Super Kings in the last season, he picked up seven wickets at an average of 38.57, an economy rate of 8.48 and a strike rate of 27.28.

The 38-year old veteran off-spinner plays no other tournament other than the IPL and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy now. In an off-season which exceeds to over nine months, one doesn’t expect him to carry on for much long now.

With CSK retaining him this year, you never know if it might be the last year when fans catch the sight of Harbhajan Singh playing in the IPL.

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