The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season has been a great entertainment spectacle for the fans, especially because the batters are running riot all over the country. It can also be considered a season of renaissance for the veteran cricketers as they are enjoying the best of the Impact Player rule.
Many of the experienced cricketers across all the IPL teams have taken the opportunity to be a part of the game as an impact player in the 2023 edition of the tournament. It’s because this new rule allows the bowlers to take the field for a certain amount of time when they are needed to deliver a few overs, while the batters, can nurse their niggles without ever taking the field in the bowling innings, as shown by the RCB captain Faf Du Plessis.
But still, the quality of performances dictates how long a veteran cricketer might get chances to play in the IPL. There are a few players who are not performing well for their teams in the current season and they are not getting any younger either. With that thought in mind, SportsTiger looks at 5 players who might be playing their last IPL in the 2023 season.
Sunil Narine
The 35-year-old West Indies cricketer from Trinidad, Sunil Narine has been an institution in Kolkata Knight Riders since his IPL debut in 2012. He has won two IPL trophies for the franchise in his illustrious career while taking 159 wickets in 159 matches and scoring 1039 runs for KKR as of this writing.
In the 2023 season, Narine has only picked up 7 wickets in 11 matches with a very high economy of 8.61 thus far for Kolkata. These stats are unheard of for a star performer like him, who has been struggling with his bowling action in recent years as well. If the lack of performances with the ball coupled with constant issues in the bowling action continues for Sunil Narine in the recent edition of the IPL and beyond, then there might be a chance that we won’t be seeing him play in the league for KKR or any other side ever again.
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Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra, the wily 41-year-old Indian leg spinner, is one of the highest wicket-takers in the Indian Premier League. He has taken 172 wickets in the tournament in 153 matches for Deccan Chargers, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and his current team Lucknow Super Giants thus far.
In the 2023 season of the IPL, Mishra has been used as an impact player multiple times by LSG, owing to his ever-deteriorating fitness in comparison to some of the better athletes in the team. The Indian international has played just 6 matches and picked up 6 wickets in this edition of the tournament. Since Amit Mishra is constantly being protected by LSG management to extend his career match by match, we shouldn’t be surprised if he gets released by them at the end of this season and doesn’t take part in the IPL next year.
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Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav, the 38-year-old Indian international all-rounder, got drafted into Royal Challengers Bangalore squad as a replacement for David Willey in the IPL 2023. He has been used by the franchise as an impact player in his two appearances now this season.
Before being recalled as a player in the Indian Premier League, Jadhav was working as an analyst on the tournament for JioCinema. Meanwhile, his last appearance in the league, before the current season, came for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the year 2021. Furthermore, he has had a poor run of form as a player in the IPL since 2019, in which he hasn’t been able to get his strike rate above 110. With all the aforementioned reasons, it is safe to say that Kedar Jadhav might not play the IPL beyond 2023.
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Ambati Rayudu
The former Indian international, Ambati Rayudu is a multi-time IPL winner for Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. He has played a whopping 200 matches in the tournament and scored 4308 runs, including one hundred and 22 fifties as of this writing.
In the 2023 IPL season, Rayudu has been used by CSK as an impact player on a number of occasions, quite possibly in line with his fitness dwindling down as the tournament moves forward. He has been contributing some runs to Chennai’s cause, 118 in 11 matches, at a very good strike rate of 132.58. But still, he is going to be nearing the age of 39 when the IPL rolls along next year, so it is likely that he won’t play in the tournament after the current season ends.
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Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla, the Indian test debutant at the age of 17 years, has played the IPL since its inception in 2008. In his long-standing career in the tournament, he has picked up 174 wickets in 169 matches till now. During the 2023 Indian Premier League season, Chawla has gotten 17 wickets in 11 matches at a very good economy of 7.47 while playing for Mumbai Indians.
The 34-year-old has had a poor run of form since the year 2020 in the IPL till this year, which led to him missing out on the 2022 season altogether. Although his performances in the current league season have been very impressive, he isn’t playing much competitive cricket outside of it, which can be a big issue for a cricketer to extend their career in the tournament. This could be a major reason why Piyush Chawla might be playing in his last IPL season.
