The Indian Premier League has first dibs on most of the world’s leading cricketers, but there are plenty who will be conspicuous by their absence over the next few weeks.
Paul Radley’s other ‘top 10s’:
Ravi Ashwin, Samuel Badree and the 10 bowlers expected to shine at 2016 Indian Premier League
Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and 10 batsmen set to light up the 2016 Indian Premier League
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1 Joe Root (England)
That reverse-ramp against South Africa in the World Twenty20 should be worth half a million dollars on its own. England players, of course, have long been treated with caution by IPL franchises, due to the clash with the Test series at start of the English summer — which this season involves Sri Lanka.
2 Mohammed Amir (Pakistan)
Not just on the basis of that opening over against India in the Asia Cup, although it does seem like a decent place to start. Amir’s skills would light up the IPL. Being from Pakistan, though, his passport already precludes him playing. And, anyway, the extra baggage Amir brings given his five-year ban for spot-fixing would be unwelcome at a tournament struggling to shed the blight of corruption itself.
3 Mohammed Shahzad (Afghanistan)
Pyrotechnic. Joy-giving. Likes a dance after winning a match. Does not especially rate training. The Afghanistan wicketkeeper batsman and the IPL seem like a perfect match. We reckon Chris Gayle would happily have Shahzad alongside him at RCB. They could form their own Champion dance troupe.
4 Martin Guptill (New Zealand)
Many expected the free-scoring New Zealand opener to be among the costliest recruits at auction, yet he went unsold entirely. Ranked third in the list for international Twenty20 batsmen, with a hundred in T20 and a double in one-day international cricket to his name, Guptill’s snub seems baffling.
5 Kevin O’Brien (Ireland)
He could not have done much more to prove his worth than scoring a 50-ball, World Cup record-fastest century against England in India in 2011. He still has yet to play in the IPL, though, and went unsold at auction again this season. He has played Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League cricket, as well as for a number of teams in the English county game.
6 Paras Khadka (Nepal)
A bit like signing Junichi Inamoto to play Premier League football, Khadka would bring his franchise a raft of new supporters from across the border in cricket-crazy Nepal, and shift a fair few shirts. But there would be substance to go with it, too. “He could play in a top team,” Pubudu Dassanayke, the former Nepal’s coach, said of Khadka when they were preparing for the World T20 debut two years ago. “As it is, he was born in Nepal and Nepal is lucky to have him to carry cricket in the country.”
7 Ish Sodhi (New Zealand)
Reliably accurate in unfavourable conditions, and the New Zealand slow bowler proved in the World T20 he can be a proper menace when the pitch assists spin. Leg spin is a valuable commodity in the T20 game. Having played just five T20 internationals before going to India, Sodhi was New Zealand’s go-to bowler when they got there, taking 10 wickets.
8 Sharjeel Khan (Pakistan)
Probably the only Pakistan player to emerge from their shambles of a World T20 in India with his reputation actually enhanced. The powerful left-handed opener had also been one of the stars of the first Pakistan Super League earlier this year. Not that too many at the IPL will have taken notice of that.
9 Mohammed Naveed (UAE)
Like Amir and Sharjeel, the fact Naveed has a Pakistani passport basically precludes him from playing at the IPL. But the leader of the UAE pace attack showed at the Asia Cup last month he could be a force to be reckoned with at the top level. “I think he has got everything,” Aaqib Javed, the UAE coach and former Pakistan bowler, said of Naveed during the Asia Cup.
10 Darren Sammy (West Indies)
A fully paid-up member of T20’s Good Luck Gang, who travel the world playing in the lucrative franchise leagues, although he did go unsold at the IPL auction this season. Despite barely making a contribution of note with the bat or ball, Sammy caught the eye at the World T20 for his leadership, as he oversaw West Indies’ march to the final.
