Warner to Williamson: Top 5 cricketers who might have played their last IPL

Here are the top five players who will be playing their last IPL as they lag in the strike rate quotient and don't have age by their side to make a difference in the future

Sourav Ganguly said that his Delhi Capitals player, Jake Fraser-McGurk, is going to be a game-changer in the future and all the teams would want him on their side. The reason was his ability to strike from ball one. Similar sentiments were echoed by South Africa and Gujarat Titans player David Miller.

"I suppose as we move forward, it becomes more and more about impact. How impactful are you in the game? Depending on the situation. If we need 15 an over, can you do it? And that's, I think, what guys are going to have to select teams on — their match-winning ability," added the Proteas player.

 

This focus on strike rate means that those who are lagging will have to pay the price. Here are the top five players who will be playing their last IPL as they lag in the strike rate quotient and do not have age by their side to make a difference later on, to come back and play IPL again.

David Warner

Warner, who moved on from Sunrisers back to his first base in Delhi, has not found the going smooth. He has been replaced at the opening slot more often in 2024 than not. The 37-year-old has already called it quits in the longest format and this year's T20 World Cup would most likely be his last as far as the white-ball format of international cricket is concerned.

His strike rate has gone down over the years in the league and thus if he is not effective at the top in the powerplay, there is no point having him in the team.

Warner's strike rate over the years in IPL

Series	Mat	Inns	NO	100s	50s	0s	HS	Runs	Avg	S/R
2009	7	7	0	0	1	1	51	163	23.29	123.48
2010	11	11	1	1	1	2	107*	282	28.2	147.64
2011	13	13	0	0	3	0	77	324	24.92	117.39
2012	8	8	1	1	1	0	109*	256	36.57	164.1
2013	16	16	3	0	4	2	77	410	31.54	126.93
2014	14	14	3	0	6	1	90	528	48	140.8
2015	14	14	1	0	7	0	91	562	43.23	156.55
2016	17	17	3	0	9	1	93*	848	60.57	151.43
2017	14	14	3	1	4	0	126	641	58.27	141.81
2019	12	12	2	1	8	0	100*	692	69.2	143.87
2020	16	16	2	0	4	0	85*	548	39.14	134.64
2021	8	8	0	0	2	1	57	195	24.38	107.73
2022	12	12	3	0	5	1	92*	432	48	150.52
2023	14	14	0	0	6	2	86	516	36.86	131.63
2024	8	8	0	0	1	0	52	168	21	134.4
Overall (15)	184	184	22	4	62	11	126	6565	40.52	139.77

Kane Williamson

Second on the list of players who might not play any more IPL seasons is Kane Williamson. The Kiwi captain peaked in the 2017 and 2018 seasons when he led the Sunrisers. But after that, he was never able to strike at the same rate of 140-150 and his averages also did not improve. To see him getting a bid in the next mega auction would be highly unlikely in today's world where strike rate is the parameter for judging a talent.

Kane Williamson's IPL numbers

Series	Mat	Inns	NO	100s	50s	0s	HS	Runs	Avg	S/R
2015	2	2	1	0	0	0	26*	31	31	114.81
2016	6	6	0	0	1	0	50	124	20.67	101.64
2017	7	7	1	0	2	0	89	256	42.67	151.48
2018	17	17	3	0	8	1	84	735	52.5	142.44
2019	9	9	2	0	1	0	70*	156	22.29	120
2020	12	11	4	0	3	0	67	317	45.29	133.76
2021	10	10	4	0	2	0	66*	266	44.33	113.19
2022	13	13	2	0	1	1	57	216	19.64	93.51
2023	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2024	2	2	0	0	0	0	26	27	13.5	100
Overall (10)	79	77	17	0	18	2	89	2128	35.47	125.62

Shikhar Dhawan

Not playing domestic cricket, is not part of Indian cricket's frame of things as far as international cricket is concerned, and gets injured regularly. Shikhar Dhawan's stars are in the doldrums at the moment and as a result, his form is on the wrong side as well. He has been unable to play the entire season as skipper in the last two seasons. At 38 years of age, it would be hard for Dhawan to find buyers more so because many young Indians want to open the batting.

Shikhar Dhawan's IPL performances over the years

Series	Mat	Inns	NO	100s	50s	0s	HS	Runs	Avg	S/R
2008	14	14	5	0	4	1	68*	340	37.78	115.25
2009	5	4	0	0	0	0	22	40	10	88.89
2010	10	10	0	0	2	1	56	191	19.1	112.35
2011	14	14	2	0	2	0	95*	400	33.33	129.03
2012	15	15	1	0	5	0	84	569	40.64	129.61
2013	10	10	2	0	3	1	73*	311	38.88	122.92
2014	14	14	1	0	2	0	64*	377	29	118.18
2015	14	14	1	0	3	0	54	353	27.15	123.43
2016	17	17	4	0	4	1	82*	501	38.54	116.78
2017	14	14	1	0	3	0	77	479	36.85	127.39
2018	16	16	3	0	4	1	92*	497	38.23	136.91
2019	16	16	1	0	5	1	97*	521	34.73	135.68
2020	17	17	3	2	4	4	106*	618	44.14	144.73
2021	16	16	1	0	3	0	92	587	39.13	124.63
2022	14	14	2	0	3	0	88*	460	38.33	122.67
2023	11	11	2	0	3	1	99*	373	41.44	142.91
2024	5	5	0	0	1	0	70	152	30.4	125.62
Overall (17)	222	221	29	2	51	11	106*	6769	35.26	127.14

Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma, in what could potentially be his last IPL game, took three wickets and those were the wickets of KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, and Deepak Hooda. However, even at just 35 years of age, Ishant has been through so many injuries that it is hard to expect him to play more. He is not the best at death either. So his biggest weapon is early swing. With batters striking the way they have in IPL 2024, they could very well cancel the swing with big hitting and thus render Ishant impactless.

Umesh Yadav

Another player who might be picked at next year's mega IPL auction is Umesh Yadav. In the last five seasons, Umesh has been able to get more than 10 wickets only once. He is not playing all the matches and at 36, he is not the express best he used to be. Though the 'Vidarbha Express' has been able to run through 148 games and pick 144 wickets, but it is almost time for him now as bidders will think twice before going for him. The questions will be what would they get from him?