The Indian Premier League became an instant hit with its maiden season in 2008 and it has gone on to become the world's most popular T20 cricket League over the years. We have seen many talented players making their mark in this cash-rich league over the years, and many more are coming up every season as well. Some of the players have even turned on to establish themselves as legends and all-time greats of the league, but there are some players who aren't rated that highly even though they have been delivering consistent performances season after season. They are the underdogs and here we shall take a look at five such underdogs from the IPL.
Rahul Tripathi
The Indian batter burst onto the scene with an excellent season for the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, where he amassed 391 runs at a strike-rate of 146.44 to help them to the final. He encountered three quiet seasons after that as he kept moving from one team to another, but he really found things working his way from 2021 once again.
Tripathi scored 397 runs for KKR in IPL 2021 to help them to the final, and then he had his best season with Sunrisers Hyderabad where he amassed 413 runs at an average of 37.55 and strike-rate of 158.24. He also got a call-up into the Indian T20I squad following such an excellent outing. The 31-year-old has played five T20Is since then, including the highest score of 44.
Umesh Yadav
The Vidarbha pacer, who plays for KKR in the IPL now, isn't considered as one of the pace-bowling greats in IPL history, but his exploits with the new ball in recent seasons have been really impressive.
Umesh claimed 16 wickets in IPL 2022, at an impressive average of 21.19. Most of those wickets came in the first half of the innings. This sums up his prowess with the new ball once again. He has claimed 33 powerplay wickets since IPL 2017, which is the third highest among all bowlers. His average of 25.27 is also the third best, whereas his bowling strike-rate of 20.55 is the fourth ranked.
Mohammed Shami
Shami has been one of the most consistent bowlers in the IPL for the last four seasons. He has claimed 78 wickets during this period, which is the fourth highest number of wickets taken by a bowler since IPL 2019.
The pacer played a pivotal role in Gujarat Titans' title-winning campaign last year. Shami claimed 20 wickets at a strike-rate of 18.30, and most of his scalps came with the new ball, and also at the death. He is also one of the primary pacers for the Indian team across all formats. So, he deserves more recognition than he gets at present.
Ambati Rayudu
He has played a crucial middle-order role for Chennai Super Kings for a number of years now. Rayudu belongs to the rare breed of Indian batters who play pace well, and he has delivered many whirlwind knocks in recent times.
Rayudu has played 188 IPL matches and has amassed over 4000 runs at an average of just a shade under 30. He also has a century and 22 fifties to his name, which tells a lot about his quality as a batter.
Rahul Tewatia
Tewatia played a very pivotal role for Gujarat Titans to help them clinch the IPL title in their maiden season. He walked in to bat in the lower middle-order and played valuable cameos regularly to help them chase down targets from unlikely situations.
The left-handed batter amassed 217 runs in IPL 2022, at an average of 31 and strike-rate of 147.62, which are excellent for a lower middle-order batter. Tewatia also bowls wrist-spin, which makes him a valuable asset for any T20 side. Although he didn't bowl much last season, the Titans know that they can count on his bowling skills whenever needed.